UN backs new world map that more accurately shows true size and scale of Africa, 164 countries vote in favor | Today’s news
The United Nations General Assembly supported the African Union’s efforts to change the way the world is represented on maps and passed a resolution calling for more accurate and fair cartographic depictions of various regions, especially Africa.
The “Fix the Map” resolution, pushed by Togo on behalf of the African Group, was adopted with overwhelming support on Friday. A total of 164 countries voted for, one voted against and six abstained.
The resolution focuses on a long-debated problem in geography: the way certain projections on a world map can make some parts of the world appear much larger or smaller than they actually are.
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The African Union welcomes the UN vote
The Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the United Nations welcomed the decision and congratulated Togo and the African Group.
“Congratulations to the delegation of Togo for the adoption of #UNGA resolution A/80/L.104 this morning, ‘Correct the Map’, an @_AfricanUnion initiative promoting more accurate and fair global cartographic representation, especially of Africa,” the mission said in a post on X.
African Union Commission President Mahmúd Ali Youssouf also welcomed the resolution and praised Togo’s leadership and the unity of African countries behind the initiative.
In a communique, Youssouf congratulated the Republic of Togo and President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé for championing the resolution on behalf of the African group and helping to secure broad international support.
“The adoption of this resolution marks an important step forward,” the AU president said.
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Why is Africa challenging the Mercator map?
At the heart of the campaign is the Mercator projection, a map projection developed in the 16th century primarily to aid navigation.
The projection preserves directions well, which is useful for navigation, but does not accurately preserve the relative surface areas of regions. As a result, countries and continents closer to the poles can appear much larger than they are.
The African Union Commission says this significantly understates the true size of Africa compared to regions such as Greenland.
The AU described the initiative as going beyond cartography and said Africa should be represented according to “objective and scientifically proven facts”.
In a separate post on X, the African Union Commission called the UN vote “a historic step towards accurate and fair global cartographic representation”.
“For centuries, the Mercator projection has distorted global geography, reducing Africa to the size of Greenland when our continent is actually 14 times larger,” the commission said.
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AU enforces maps with the same area
The African Union is calling on international institutions, schools, publishers and digital platforms to gradually adopt maps that give a more accurate idea of the relative size of landmasses.
In particular, she highlighted flat surface projections, including the Equal Earth projection, for use in classrooms, media, and international institutions.
The AU Commission said it will continue to work with Togo, its member states and other partners to support the implementation of the initiative.
For Youssouf, the debate is ultimately about more than the technical aspects of mapmaking.
“Africa must be represented as it really is: in its true dimensions and in its rightful place in the world,” the AU president said.
Adoption by the UN gives the campaign international support, although the Mercator projection remains widely used due to its historical significance and practical value for navigation. AU’s effort is instead aimed at promoting greater use of maps with equivalent areas, especially in educational and public representations of the world.
