The United Nations has adopted a resolution championed by African nations to replace the long-standing Mercator projection with the Equal Earth map, an move aimed at rectifying centuries of geographical distortion that has systematically minimized the size of Africa.
Voted on Friday, the ‘Correct the Map’ resolution passed with 164 votes in favor, one against, and six abstentions. The initiative, sponsored by the African Union and the Bahamas, seeks to address a colonial-era injustice that has visually shrunk the continent for 450 years, influencing global perceptions in education, media, and policy.
Togo spearheaded the campaign, led by Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, who argued that the traditional Mercator projection, developed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in the 16th century, artificially expands landmasses near the poles. This distortion makes Greenland appear comparable in size to Africa, despite Africa being approximately 14 times larger.
“A fair world begins with a fair map,” Dussey stated prior to the vote. He emphasized that the widespread use of the Mercator projection is a legacy of colonization, but clarified that the new resolution is not an attack on any civilization. “The world is changing. Africa also is changing,” he added.
The resolution promotes the Equal Earth projection, which offers a more accurate portrayal of continental sizes. While the measure is not legally binding, it explicitly states that it does not challenge the use of the Mercator projection for maritime and aerial navigation, where it remains technically suitable.
The United States was the sole dissenting vote, with officials labeling the resolution as an “ideological agenda” and a distraction from critical issues regarding international peace and prosperity.
Moky Makura, executive director of Africa No Filter, praised the outcome but stressed that implementation is the next hurdle. “We want to see accurate maps in schools, textbooks, newsrooms, businesses and on the digital platforms billions of people use every day,” Makura said. “If we got something as basic as Africa’s size wrong for this long, what else about Africa have we simply accepted without questioning?”
France, a co-sponsor of the resolution, announced it would also abandon the Mercator projection. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot declared that the government would adopt map representations more faithful to actual surface areas, noting that the current system gives disproportionate visual prominence to the US, Russia, and China.
Togo now intends to pressure governments, educational institutions, and technology companies to transition to the Equal Earth projection, with goals to update school geography materials by the end of the year.
Finally! I always felt Greenland looked absurdly huge on our classroom maps. This change feels long overdue for accurate education.
Interesting move, but will tech giants actually update their default map views? Voting is easy; implementation is where the real challenge lies.
A symbolic win, but let’s see if this translates to policy shifts or just new textbook illustrations. Representation matters, but so does action.
Wait, the US voted against it? Calling it an ‘ideological agenda’ seems like a stretch when it’s literally about mathematical accuracy in cartography.
I used Mercator for sailing charts in college. Cool that they aren’t banning it for navigation, but school kids deserve the truth now.