UN votes to adopt new world map to reflect Africa’s true size
The Mercator projection is the map widely used across the globe but inaccurately depicts the sizes of countries and continents
The United Nations General Assembly has endorsed a move to replace the traditional world map with a projection that more accurately represents the size of Africa and other continents.
The “Correct the Map” resolution, sponsored by Togo and supported by members of the African Union (AU), was approved with 164 countries voting in favour. France and the UK were among those supporting the resolution, while the United States was the only country to vote against it. Six countries abstained.
Although the resolution is non-binding, it is expected to encourage institutions around the world to adopt maps that provide a more accurate representation of continental sizes.
The Mercator projection, which has been widely used since the 16th Century, has faced criticism for significantly distorting the size of landmasses. Under the projection, Africa can appear comparable in size to Greenland, despite Africa being about 14 times larger.
Critics argue that such distortions can influence how people perceive Africa’s scale, resources, economic potential and development needs.
The Mercator projection was created in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator, primarily as a navigation tool for European explorers. Its distortions stem from the difficulty of accurately transferring the curved surface of the Earth onto a flat map.
Because no two-dimensional map can perfectly represent a globe, cartographers must make compromises when depicting the world.
The Mercator projection exaggerates the size of areas closer to the poles while making regions around the equator appear relatively smaller than they actually are.
In 2018, cartographers developed the Equal Earth projection as an alternative designed to preserve the relative sizes of landmasses more accurately.
In February, the AU’s 54 member states adopted the Equal Earth projection, saying it offers a more accurate representation of the size of the continents, particularly Africa.
The campaign group #CorrectTheMap has highlighted Africa’s vast size by noting that the continent could accommodate the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico and much of Europe, with land still remaining.
Ahead of the UN vote, Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said: “A fair world begins with a fair map.”
He also argued that maps influence how people perceive different regions and understand the place of continents and peoples in the world.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot supported the campaign and announced that France’s foreign ministry would stop using the Mercator projection.
“Changing the map obviously doesn’t change the world. But correcting a representation that distorts it is already an act of truth,” he said.
The United States, however, opposed the resolution. Its representative at the UN, Yaryna Ferencevych, criticised the initiative, arguing that the General Assembly should focus on more pressing global challenges.
She said the resolution diverted attention from issues such as international peace, prosperity and relations between countries by focusing on a map developed centuries ago.
Campaigners, however, insist that the issue goes beyond cartography.
Lerato Mogoatlhe of Africa No Filter, one of the organisations campaigning against continued use of the Mercator projection, described Africa’s distorted representation as both a mapping problem and a matter of perception.
She argued that correcting the map could help challenge longstanding misconceptions and misinformation about Africa.
Kenyan geographer Kioko Muendo similarly said the Mercator projection had contributed to an understated perception of Africa’s size, resources, population and investment opportunities.
He stressed that maps are not merely tools for navigation but can also influence how regions are viewed politically and economically.
Source: BBC
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