The UN General Assembly on Friday endorsed a world map designed to portray Africa and other continents in proportions closer to their actual size, backing a campaign led by African countries and advocacy groups.
A resolution sponsored by Togo and supported by members of the African Union received 164 votes in favour. The United States voted against it, while Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine abstained.
The resolution encourages governments and institutions to consider replacing the centuries-old Mercator projection with the Equal Earth projection, which geographers say provides a more accurate representation of the relative sizes of continents.
The move does not prohibit the use of the Mercator map or make Equal Earth mandatory. Instead, it calls for wider adoption of the newer projection, according to the UN.
Under the Mercator projection, Greenland can appear roughly comparable in size to Africa. The Equal Earth map, by contrast, depicts Africa as about 14 times larger than Greenland.
“Maps shape our understanding of the world,” Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said before the vote, stressing their influence on education and people's perceptions.
Africa No Filter, a leading group behind the campaign, welcomed the resolution and called for accurate maps to be used in schools, textbooks, newsrooms, businesses and digital platforms.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot also welcomed the decision, saying that correcting a distorted representation of the world was an important step toward greater accuracy.
The Mercator projection was developed in the 16th century by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator primarily to assist European sailors with navigation. However, critics say it significantly enlarges areas near the poles while making Africa and South America appear smaller than they actually are.
The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018, takes the Earth's curvature into account and depicts continents in proportions closer to their true areas.
Geographers say the Mercator projection remains useful for navigation but has limited value for other purposes.
“Outside of that very narrow navigation application, there is no point in using it,” said Mark Monmonier, a geography professor at Syracuse University.