On Friday the UN General Assembly voted 164 to 1 to back a world map that draws Africa at its true size. Only the United States voted no. Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine abstained.
Togo sponsored the resolution, with members of the African Union behind it. It follows a campaign led by African countries and advocacy groups.
The text asks governments and institutions to drop the Mercator map, in common use since the 16th century, for the Equal Earth projection, which advocates and geographers say places locations more accurately. It does not ban Mercator or force a replacement. The UN said in its report that it only encourages Equal Earth.
What the old map gets wrong
Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish cartographer, designed his map to help European navigators at sea. Advocates say it blows up regions near the poles, such as North America and Greenland, and shrinks Africa and South America. On a Mercator map, Greenland and Africa look about the same size. On the Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018, which follows the curvature of the Earth, Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland.
Mark Monmonier, a geography professor at Syracuse University, said the traditional map has one use. “Outside of that very narrow navigation application, there is no point in using it,” he said.
Reaction
Togo’s foreign minister, Robert Dussey, told the Assembly before the vote: “Maps shape our understanding of the world. They guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions.”
Africa No Filter, one of the lead campaigners, welcomed the result. “We want to see accurate maps in schools, textbooks, newsrooms, businesses and on the digital platforms billions of people use every day,” the group said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot posted on X after the vote: “Changing the map obviously doesn’t change the world. But correcting a representation that distorts it is already an act of truth.”
