In a landmark vote, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a new world map that accurately reflects the true relative landmass of continents, moving past centuries of cartographic distortion.
Under the newly approved resolution, the sheer scale of the African continent is underscored by the geographic comparison that the landmasses of the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico, and the majority of Europe could fit inside Africa with room to spare.
The initiative jointly submitted by the African Group in New York and AU member states under the banner "Correct the Map" secured 164 votes in favor, with six abstentions. The United States cast the sole opposing vote.
Led by the Republic of Togo, with strong advocacy from President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, the resolution discards the 1569 Mercator projection designed by Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator for maritime navigation.
That traditional framework has long minimized Africa, Latin America, and South Asia by enlarging regions near the poles.
In its place, the UN resolution calls for global adoption of the "Equal Earth" projection, introduced by cartographers in 2018 to preserve continental land-area proportions accurately.
While the Mercator projection visually centered and inflated North America, Europe, and Russia fostering geographic bias discrepancies like Greenland appearing equal in size to the African continent will be corrected.
In reality, Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland, while Greenland is roughly comparable in area to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cartography expert Bojan Šavrič noted that the Equal Earth map perfectly maintains the relative surface areas of the continents.
Leading the charge for adoption, Togolese Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert Dussey emphasized, "Maps shape people's perceptions, educational systems, and generational attitudes; they are by no means neutral." He stressed that passing down a distorted image of our planet is no longer acceptable.
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf hailed the adoption as a historic step toward correcting long-standing systemic biases that undervalued the social, economic, and developmental realities of the Global South.
International bodies, educational institutions, publishers, and digital mapping providers are now urged to transition to the accurate map gradually.
Several nations have already expressed commitment to the rollout, with France announcing it will completely phase out the Mercator map.
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot remarked, "Changing a map won't change the world by itself, but correcting a long-standing misrepresentation is, in itself, an act of truth."
