UN General Assembly endorses a new world map that shows more accurately Africa's size

The United States became the sole country to oppose a UN resolution on May 10 that advocated for a new world map reflecting the true size of countries, sparking accusations that Washington turned its back on a symbolic push for fairer global representation. In a vote of 164 to 1, with six countries abstaining, African nations led by Togo successfully promoted the Equal Earth projection over the centuries-old Mercator map.

The Mercator projection, a widely recognized map appearing in classrooms, atlases, and offices globally, has long been criticized for dramatically distorting the size of countries, particularly making Greenland appear as large as Africa when Africa is actually about 14 times bigger. The African-backed campaign, Correct the Map, argues that representing Africa accurately is a matter of historical fairness, as centuries of colonial-era mapping has been the global standard.

While the lopsided result has fueled criticism from some African voices on social media, describing the lone American vote as a rejection of the initiative, the UN has not banned the Mercator map. Instead, the resolution encourages the use of the Equal Earth projection and other equal-area maps that preserve countries’ relative size more accurately.

This shift could gradually influence textbooks, educational materials, and official publications. For African diplomats, the vote symbolizes a step toward correcting historical imbalances in global representation. Critics argue that the Mercator projection's dominance has helped normalize a misleading picture of the world for centuries, while supporters see the UN's endorsement of the Equal Earth projection as a shift toward a more accurate map.

Whether the new projection will be widely adopted by schools, governments, and digital platforms remains uncertain. However, the diplomatic message is clear: the world largely supports Africa's call to redraw how the planet is represented, despite the United States' opposition.