UN endorses new world map that accurately represents Africa
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday endorsed a new world map that represents Africa more accurately in its larger size, a culmination of a recent campaign led by African countries and advocacy groups, reports BritPanorama.
Friday’s resolution, sponsored by Togo and backed by members of the African Union, was passed with 164 member states voting in favor. The only dissenting vote came from the U.S., while six countries — Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, and Ukraine — abstained.
The vote encourages governments and institutions globally to replace the traditional Mercator map, used since the 16th Century, with the Equal Earth projection, which advocates and geographers argue depicts geographical locations more accurately.
The Mercator projection misleadingly displays Greenland and Africa as the same size, when in reality, under the Equal Earth projection, Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland. The resolution does not impose a ban on the Mercator projection; instead, it merely promotes the use of the Equal Earth model, according to the U.N. report.
“Maps shape our understanding of the world,” quoted Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey before the vote. “They guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions.”
Africa No Filter, a key campaigner for the new map, welcomed the resolution, stating: “We want to see accurate maps in schools, textbooks, newsrooms, businesses, and on the digital platforms billions of people use every day.”
Other nations have also pressed for the adoption of the Equal Earth map. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot commented on X, “Changing the map obviously doesn’t change the world. But correcting a representation that distorts it is already an act of truth.”
The Mercator map, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator for European navigators, has long been criticized for distorting landmasses by enlarging polar regions while diminishing the true size of Africa and South America.
In contrast, the 2018 Equal Earth projection adheres to the Earth’s curvature, providing a more accurate illustration of continents. Geographers assert that the traditional map serves a limited purpose centered solely on navigation.
Mark Monmonier, a professor of geography at Syracuse University, stated, “Outside of that very narrow navigation application, there is no point in using it.”
