CULTURE SOCIETY
U.N. General Assembly votes to adopt new map projection altering Africa's depicted size
The U.N. General Assembly passed a nonbinding “Correct the Map” resolution urging wider use of equal-area world maps such as the Equal Earth projection instead of Mercator, with the vote 164-1 (U.S. opposed) and six abstentions.
The U.N. General Assembly passed a nonbinding “Correct the Map” resolution urging wider use of equal-area world maps such as the Equal Earth projection instead of Mercator, with the vote 164-1 (U.S. opposed) and six abstentions.
Corroboration
LowMedHigh
Confirmed by 34+ sources.
What This is
- The U.N. General Assembly endorsed a non-binding resolution encouraging use of equal-area world maps, especially the Equal Earth projection.
- Equal Earth is an equal-area projection designed to keep continents’ relative sizes closer to their real proportions, making Africa appear much larger than on Mercator maps.
- The vote was 164 in favor, with the United States the only country voting against and six countries abstaining.
- Togo led the effort, backed by the African Union, under the “Correct the Map” initiative.
- The resolution encourages governments, schools, publishers, international bodies, and digital platforms to use equal-area maps more often, but it does not ban Mercator maps.
Why This Matters
- Maps are everyday tools, so their design can shape how people rank places and power without realizing it.
- The fight over projections is also a fight over story and history, including claims that older map defaults reflect colonial-era viewpoints.
- A U.N. vote is not binding, but it can still nudge schools, publishers, and tech platforms toward a new “default” world image.
- The U.S. being the lone “no” turned a technical change into a diplomatic and cultural signal about what the U.N. should focus on.