United Nations Approves New World Map Showing Africa's True Size

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a new world map draft that moves away from the traditional Mercator map projection to represent Africa's true and larger size. The draft resolution, prepared as a result of a campaign led by African countries, received widespread support.

Voting and Member States' Stance

The draft resolution, submitted by Togo and supported by African Union members, was adopted with 164 member states voting in favor at the United Nations General Assembly.

As a result of the vote, only the United States voted against it, while six countries—Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, and Ukraine—abstained.

Mercator and Equal Earth Projections

The approved resolution encourages governments and institutions worldwide to transition to the Equal Earth projection instead of the traditional Mercator map, which has been widely used since the sixteenth century.

While Greenland and Africa appear to be roughly the same size on the traditional Mercator map, the Equal Earth projection, which depicts continents in their true proportions, shows that Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland.

Binding Nature and Scope of the Decision

In a report published by the United Nations, it was particularly emphasized that this decision, taken on Friday, does not ban the Mercator projection or impose a mandatory replacement.

The decision solely aims to encourage the use of the Equal Earth projection, which geographers state depicts locations more accurately.