‘Correct the Map’: Why the new world map matters to Africa

A resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly could lead to a new world map that more accurately represents Africa's size. Known as the "Correct the Map" resolution, it was adopted by 164 countries, with the United States being the lone dissenting vote. The resolution aims to promote the use of maps that more accurately depict the relative sizes of continents, especially Africa.

Currently, Africa appears much smaller than it actually is on the widely used Mercator projection, developed in the 16th century for navigation purposes. This distortion stems from the fact that the Mercator projection was designed to show direction accurately, rather than size. As a result, countries like Greenland appear nearly as large as Africa on a Mercator map, despite Africa being roughly 14 times larger in actual land area.

The resolution does not legally bind any nations; rather, it encourages countries and organizations to adopt more precise mapping systems, particularly when comparing the sizes of regions. The African Union (AU) sees this as crucial for Africa's global representation. Africa's Commission Chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, welcomed the resolution, stating that it marks a significant step towards fairer representation of Africa and other regions in various media, including schools, textbooks, and digital platforms.

The AU has even endorsed the Equal Earth projection, an equal-area map that preserves land masses more accurately than the Mercator projection. Now, the practical outcome of this resolution hinges on the actions taken by governments, schools, publishers, international organizations, and digital platforms.