The United Nations General Assembly has voted 164-1 to adopt the Equal Earth map projection, which shows countries and continents in their true relative proportions, meaning Africa appears significantly larger than on traditional maps. The United States cast the sole vote against the resolution, with its deputy representative to the UN Economic and Social Council describing it as a "radical ideological project" masquerading as a technical update, while Togo's foreign minister, who introduced the measure on behalf of the African Group, argued that a fairer map would foster greater understanding and respect between nations.

Six countries, including Ukraine, Georgia and Estonia, abstained from the vote. The resolution targets the long-dominant Mercator projection, devised in 1569 for maritime navigation, which enlarges areas near the poles and shrinks those near the equator, making Africa look far smaller than it actually is relative to places such as Greenland. Although the measure does not compel governments or companies to stop using Mercator-style maps, which remain standard on platforms such as Google Maps owing to their suitability for digital panning and zooming, it formally establishes UN backing for equal-area maps as the preferred way of depicting the world.