The United Nations General Assembly has voted to adopt a new standard world map, the Equal Earth projection, replacing the centuries-old Mercator map that critics say distorts perceptions by making Africa appear far smaller than it really is. The move follows a campaign led by Togo and African Union members under a "Correct the Map" resolution, framed as an effort to reject what advocates call "cartographic colonialism", arguing that maps shape how people perceive the relative importance of nations and continents.

The Mercator projection, created in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator to aid sea navigation, distorts landmasses by stretching areas near the poles while shrinking those near the equator, making Africa appear similar in size to Greenland despite being roughly 14 times larger. The resolution passed with 164 states in favour, with only the United States voting against and six countries — Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine — abstaining; it does not ban the Mercator map but encourages governments and institutions to adopt the Equal Earth projection instead. US representative Yaryna Ferencevych criticised the vote as a distraction from more pressing UN business, while Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said "a fair world begins with a fair map".