UN Backs New World Map to Restore Africa’s True Size

The United Nations General Assembly has voted to support a new world map designed to present Africa and other regions of the world in their more accurate proportions, marking a major challenge to the centuries-old Mercator projection.

The resolution, spearheaded by Togo on behalf of the African Union, received 164 votes in favour, while the United States voted against it and six countries abstained.

The UN decision calls for the gradual replacement of the traditional Mercator projection with maps based on the 2018 Equal Earth design, an equal-area projection developed by an international team of cartographers.

Although UN resolutions are not legally binding, the decision is expected to influence the maps used in schools, public institutions, digital platforms and other areas where geographical representations shape how people understand the world.

The Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, was originally designed to assist sailors with navigation. However, its distortion of land masses means countries and continents closer to the poles appear much larger than they actually are.

Africa, which stretches across the equator, is particularly affected.

On the conventional Mercator map, Africa can appear comparable in size to Greenland. In reality, Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland.

The continent's enormous geographical scale becomes even more apparent when compared with other major economies. The United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico and large parts of Europe could fit within Africa's landmass, with considerable space remaining.

Togo's Foreign Affairs Minister, Robert Dussey, described the campaign as a scientific rather than political issue, arguing that geographical representations should reflect the physical reality of the world.

“This discussion is not a political discussion but a scientific discussion,” Dussey said before the vote, arguing that scientific evidence should guide the way the world is represented.

The campaign has also taken on a broader cultural and political significance in Africa.

Supporters of the #CorrectTheMap campaign argue that the widespread use of Mercator has contributed to an exaggerated visual prominence of countries in the Northern Hemisphere while making Africa and other equatorial regions appear smaller.

Critics have described this phenomenon as a form of “cartographic colonialism”, arguing that maps can influence perceptions of political,9 economic and cultural importance.

The African Union endorsed the #CorrectTheMap campaign in August 2025 and subsequently backed Togo's efforts to push the issue at the United Nations.

Geopolitical risk analyst JJ Enoch said adopting an equal-area map could provide a more accurate foundation for education and public understanding while recognising Africa's growing demographic, economic and geopolitical importance.

The Equal Earth projection is not the only alternative to Mercator. The Gall-Peters projection, introduced in the 1970s, has also been used to represent countries according to their actual relative areas.

France has meanwhile announced that it will move away from Mercator and adopt the Eckert IV projection, which, like Equal Earth, provides a more accurate representation of land areas.

Togo is now planning a meeting in Lomé involving UNESCO, the African Union and technology companies including Google Maps during the first quarter of 2027 to discuss how the UN resolution can be implemented.