UN votes to adopt new world map showing Africa's true size

What the report says

The UN General Assembly has approved a resolution calling for a new world map that better reflects Africa’s actual size, in a move welcomed by African Union members and backed by a wide majority of countries. According to BBC Africa, the Togo-sponsored measure passed with support from 164 nations, while the United States was the only country to vote against it and six states abstained.

The debate centers on the long-used Mercator projection, a 16th-century map designed for navigation that distorts land masses on a flat surface. As BBC Africa notes, critics say it makes Africa appear much smaller than it really is, even though the continent is far larger than Greenland and is often shown in ways that understate its scale and significance. Supporters of the change argue that map design can influence public perceptions of geography, power and development.

The resolution is non-binding, but it could encourage institutions and educators to adopt the Equal Earth projection, an alternative created by cartographers in 2018 and later endorsed by the AU’s 54 member states in February. Togo’s foreign minister, Robert Dussey, argued before the vote that a fair world should begin with a fair map. The BBC says the decision may lead to broader changes in how Africa is represented internationally.