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UN Adopts New World Map to Reflect Africa's True Size
Confirmed
In Short: The UN General Assembly has voted to replace the Mercator projection map, which inaccurately depicts Africa's size, with a more accurate alternative.
The United Nations General Assembly has voted to adopt a new world map that more accurately reflects Africa’s size, addressing criticisms of the Mercator projection, which has been in use since the 16th century. This map, known as the Equal Earth projection, more accurately represents the relative sizes of continents and countries.
Critics argue that the Mercator map, which has been widely used globally, inaccurately makes Africa appear similar in size to Greenland, despite Greenland being 14 times larger. The UN vote, while non-binding, aims to influence the maps used by institutions worldwide.
The resolution, sponsored by Togo, calls for phasing out the traditional Mercator map in favor of the Equal Earth projection, which more accurately reflects the true size of Africa. This move is seen as a step towards more accurate global representation.
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- Togo, which spearheaded a campaign for the resolution on behalf of the African Union, said the resolution “recognises and affirms that disproportionate cartographic representations, particularly those resulting from the Mercator projection, have had lasting cognitive, educational, cultural, geopolitical and socioeconomic effects, contributing to a drastic reduction in the perceived size of Africa and other regions of the world in the global collective imagination”.
- JJ Enoch, a London-based senior associate at JS Held, a geopolitical risk advisory firm, said the Mercator projection visually diminished Africa’s true scale.
- The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly in favour of adopting a new world map designed to accurately represent the relative sizes of the world's countries, following a push by African nations to address what they described as a centuries-old cartographic injustice.