UN adopts new map with smaller US, bigger Africa

The United Nations General Assembly has voted to adopt a new world map that gives Africa a larger representation while reducing the size of North America and Europe, a decision that has drawn criticism from the United States. The new map, called the Equal Earth cartographic projection, aims to provide a more accurate representation of continental landmasses compared to the traditional Mercator projection.

The resolution, sponsored by Togo and supported by 164 countries, urges member states to replace the Mercator projection, which was created in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator for maritime navigation. The US representative, Yaryna Ferencevych, criticized the move, arguing that the UN is focusing on outdated issues like map projects rather than addressing real-world problems.

The Mercator projection, while useful for navigation, distorts the relative sizes of land masses, making northern regions appear larger than they are and compressing equatorial areas. As a result, Europe and North America seem much bigger on the map, while Africa and South America appear smaller. The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018, restores the relative surface areas of continents and their true shapes on a globe.

In response, France announced that it would abandon the Mercator projection, noting that the distorted representation of the world, with the US, Russia, and China appearing disproportionately large compared to Africa, Latin America, and southeast Asia, is an act of "cognitive injustice." The initiative comes as France seeks to improve relations with Africa, particularly with former colonies with which it has strained ties.