UN General Assembly Approves Africa’s New Map For Equal Earth Projection, US Alone Votes Against
Africa has secured a major diplomatic victory at the United Nations in its push to correct world maps that make the continent appear smaller than it actually is.
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday backed an Africa-led campaign to promote the Equal Earth map projection, which more accurately reflects the true size of countries and continents.
The resolution, led by Togo on behalf of African states and backed by the African Union, passed with 164 countries voting in favour, only the United States voting against, and six abstentions.
The initiative promotes the Equal Earth projection as an alternative to the centuries-old Mercator projection created in the 16th century for navigation. While Mercator accurately preserves directions for maritime and aerial navigation, it dramatically enlarges areas closer to the North and South Poles and shrinks regions near the equator.
As a result, Africa — which is roughly 14 times larger than Greenland — appears almost the same size as Greenland on conventional Mercator maps.
Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey told Reuters ahead of the vote: “A fair world begins with a fair map,” linking the campaign to wider African efforts to confront colonial-era legacies in education and global perception.
The resolution is not legally binding and does not ban the Mercator projection where it remains useful. Instead, it encourages governments, schools, international organisations and technology companies to adopt more accurate area-based projections such as Equal Earth.
Togo plans to change its own school geography materials by the end of 2026 and use that as an example for other countries. It also intends to engage African Union members and tech companies involved in mapping services to drive wider adoption.
The vote gives the #CorrectTheMap campaign a global platform, turning a technical cartography debate into a broader African push for how the continent is represented in education, technology and global institutions.
