Africa: UN Backs Effort to Drop Mercator Map and Show Size of Africa More Accurately

What the report says

The United Nations has endorsed a nonbinding effort to move away from the Mercator world map and encourage the use of projections that show countries, especially in Africa, at more accurate relative sizes. According to Radio France Internationale’s reporting carried by AllAfrica, the resolution was backed by 164 countries and opposed by the United States, with several states abstaining.

The initiative was led by Togo and supported by African governments as part of a broader push by the African Union to reduce the sense that the continent sits at the edge of the world. The text does not ban the Mercator projection, which remains useful for navigation, but asks governments, schools, international organizations and technology companies to adopt the Equal Earth projection or other equal-area maps when scale matters.

The debate has also drawn in France. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France would stop using Mercator-based maps, arguing that such images shape perceptions over time. Togo’s foreign minister, Robert Dussey, said the issue is about dignity and fairness in how the world is represented.

The move matters because map projections can influence public understanding of geography, power and global importance. Togo said it plans to change school textbooks first and then work with other governments and private-sector mapping providers on wider adoption.