UN backs new world map that shows Africa closer to its true size

The Equal Earth projection represents the relative size of Africa and other continents more accurately than the widely used Mercator projection.

The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly backed an African-led campaign to change the way the world is represented on maps, endorsing a projection that more accurately reflects the size of Africa and other continents.

The resolution, titled “Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation and Promoting Equitable Representation of the World's Regions, Particularly Africa,” was sponsored by Togo and supported by the African Union. It was adopted on Friday by 164 votes to one, with six countries abstaining. The United States was the only country to vote against the resolution, while Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine abstained.

The resolution encourages governments, educational institutions, publishers and technology companies to make greater use of map projections that represent the relative size of continents more accurately, including the Equal Earth projection.

However, the decision does not legally ban the Mercator projection or compel countries to immediately replace existing maps. The resolution is non-binding, meaning its influence will depend largely on whether governments, schools, publishers and digital platforms adopt its recommendations. The campaign centres on the long-standing use of the Mercator projection, developed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569.

The projection was designed primarily for navigation and has remained one of the world's most recognisable map formats. But because a spherical Earth cannot be represented on a flat surface without distortion, the Mercator projection greatly enlarges land masses closer to the poles while making areas around the equator appear comparatively smaller.

One of the most striking examples is Greenland, which can appear comparable in size to Africa on a Mercator map. In reality, Africa covers about 30.4 million square kilometres, while Greenland covers roughly 2.2 million square kilometres, making Africa about 14 times larger. Supporters of the campaign argue that the distortion is more than a technical cartographic issue because maps influence how people understand geography, economics and the relative importance of different regions. “A fair world begins with a fair map,” Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said ahead of the vote.

He argued that maps shape perceptions and influence how people understand the place of continents and populations in the world. The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018 by cartographers Tom Patterson, Bojan Šavrič and Bernhard Jenny, was designed to preserve the relative areas of continents more accurately while maintaining a visually balanced world map.

The African Union endorsed the projection earlier this year as a more accurate representation of the size of Africa and other continents. African advocacy organisations have welcomed the UN vote, arguing that correcting geographical distortions can help challenge long-standing misconceptions about the continent.

Lerato Mogoatlhe of Africa No Filter described the campaign as an effort to address what she called a long-running misrepresentation of Africa. Geographers have also argued that maps influence perceptions of Africa's resources, population, economic potential and geopolitical importance.

The United States, however, opposed the resolution. Its representative at the UN criticised the General Assembly for devoting attention to cartographic representation instead of what Washington described as more pressing international challenges. Despite the disagreement, the overwhelming vote marks a symbolic victory for the African-led campaign. The resolution does not change Africa's physical geography. Instead, its supporters say, it changes how that geography is presented.

And as more schools, institutions and digital platforms consider adopting equal-area projections, the familiar world map may gradually begin to look very different.

Africa true size world map