UN votes to adopt new world map to reflect Africa’s true size
The UN General Assembly has voted to adopt a new world map that more accurately reflects the true size of Africa, replacing the widely used but distorting Mercator projection. The "Correct the Map" resolution, sponsored by Togo and backed by African Union members, passed with 164 votes in favour, including from France and the UK, while the United States was the sole nation to vote against it, with six abstentions. Although non-binding, the vote is expected to prompt institutions worldwide to change the maps they use, and supporters argue the shift matters because the old map has long minimised perceptions of Africa's scale, resources and importance.
The Mercator map, created in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator, distorts relative sizes by making regions near the equator appear smaller and those near the poles larger, so that Africa looks similar in size to Greenland despite being roughly 14 times bigger. In its place, campaigners back the Equal Earth projection, devised by cartographers in 2018 and already adopted by the AU's 54 member states in February. Advocates, including Togo's foreign minister and France's foreign minister, framed the change as a matter of fairness and truthful representation, while the US delegation dismissed the resolution as a distraction from more pressing UN business.
- UN adopts new map showing Africa's true, larger size
- 164 nations backed it; US was the only vote against
- Equal Earth projection replaces the distorting 1569 Mercator map
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Africa has long been misrepresented on the world's most widely used maps, which tend to make the continent look far smaller than it really is compared with countries closer to the poles, such as Russia or Greenland. This distortion comes from a centuries-old mapping method called the Mercator projection, designed originally for sea navigation rather than showing countries' true relative sizes. Campaigners, particularly from African nations, have argued this has shaped how the continent is perceived globally, including its scale, resources and significance.
The push for change has been led by African Union member states, with Togo putting forward a formal proposal at the United Nations to encourage a switch to a more accurate map, one that better reflects Africa's actual size relative to other regions. This newer style of map, known as the Equal Earth projection, was created by cartographers in 2018 and had already been adopted by African Union countries earlier this year. The issue has drawn support from a large majority of UN member states, though not all countries have agreed with the move.
Any change of this kind would mainly affect the maps used by institutions, schools and organisations worldwide, rather than altering anything physical about the countries themselves. Because UN resolutions of this type are not legally binding, the practical impact depends on how many organisations choose to adopt the new map. The debate touches on broader questions about representation, fairness and how geography can influence perceptions of a continent's importance on the world stage.