The UN General Assembly has backed an Africa-led campaign to promote maps that more accurately show the size of continents, challenging the centuries-old Mercator projection.

UN Backs New Map

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution promoting the use of world maps that more accurately represent the relative sizes of countries and continents, particularly Africa.

The resolution, led by Togo and backed by African Union members and other countries, received 164 votes in favour, while the United States voted against it and six countries abstained.

The initiative, known as the “Correct the Map” campaign, seeks to encourage governments, educational institutions, international organisations and technology companies to move away from maps that visually distort the size of land masses.

The resolution promotes the Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018, as a more accurate way of depicting the relative size of continents.

Mercator Map Under Fire

The Mercator projection was created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. It was designed primarily to help sailors navigate because lines of constant direction could be represented as straight lines.

Its major limitation is that it significantly exaggerates the apparent size of areas closer to the poles. As a result, Greenland can appear comparable in size to Africa on a conventional Mercator world map.

In reality, Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland. The projection also makes Europe and North America appear considerably larger relative to equatorial regions than their actual land areas.

The Mercator projection remains useful for certain navigation purposes, meaning the UN resolution does not eliminate its use in maritime or aviation applications.

Equal Earth Gains Support

The Equal Earth projection offers an equal-area representation, meaning the relative areas of continents are shown much more accurately while retaining recognisable shapes.

Supporters argue that this makes it better suited for education, public information and general world maps where comparing the size of land masses is important.

Togo has emerged as the main diplomatic force behind the campaign. Foreign Minister Robert Dussey argued that maps influence how people understand the world and that long-standing distortions can have educational, cultural and geopolitical consequences.

The campaign has received backing from the African Union, which endorsed efforts to correct the way Africa is represented on commonly used world maps.

Africa’s Global Image

Supporters say the debate is about more than cartography.

For decades, critics of the Mercator projection have argued that its visual treatment of Africa and other equatorial regions has contributed to a misleading perception of their geographical importance.

Togo and campaign groups say more accurate maps could help change how Africa is presented in classrooms, textbooks, newsrooms and digital platforms.

The campaign also forms part of broader African efforts to challenge colonial-era legacies and strengthen the continent's representation in international institutions.

However, geographers generally stress that no flat map can perfectly represent a spherical Earth. Every projection involves some compromise involving size, shape, distance or direction.

US Votes Against

The United States was the only country to vote against the resolution.

Washington criticised the initiative as an ideological exercise and argued that the General Assembly should focus on more pressing international issues rather than historical cartographic practices.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz described the measure as part of a broader ideological agenda and questioned its relevance to the organisation's core responsibilities.

The overwhelming vote nevertheless gave the African-led campaign significant international backing.

Resolution Not Binding

Despite the historic vote, the decision does not mean that the Mercator map has been officially banned or legally retired worldwide.

UN General Assembly resolutions of this nature are generally non-binding. The measure encourages member states and organisations to promote more accurate cartographic representations but does not force governments, schools or private technology companies to abandon Mercator.

The resolution also does not prevent the projection from being used where its particular properties remain useful, especially navigation.

The immediate impact will therefore depend largely on whether governments, educational institutions and technology companies voluntarily adopt alternative projections.

What Happens Next

Togo plans to push for wider adoption of more accurate maps, including changes to educational materials. The country has indicated that it wants to begin updating school geography resources by the end of 2026.

Campaigners are also seeking changes across digital mapping services, textbooks, media organisations and other institutions that routinely display world maps.

The UN vote represents a symbolic victory for the Global South, particularly Africa, in its campaign for more accurate geographical representation.

But the transition will take time. The Mercator projection has been embedded in education, mapping technology and popular culture for centuries.

The latest UN decision is therefore best understood not as the end of the Mercator map, but as a major international push to ensure that Africa and other regions of the Global South are shown closer to their true geographical scale.