UN backs world map showing Africa’s true scale
NEW YORK
This handout graphic provided by Equal Earth shows the Equal Earth cartographic projection. (Photo by Handout / Equal Earth / AFP)
The U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 4 endorsed a world map that more accurately represents the relative sizes of Africa and other continents, with the United States casting the only vote against the measure.
The resolution, sponsored by Togo, received 164 votes in favor, with six countries abstaining. It urges member states to use the Equal Earth projection in place of the traditional Mercator map.
Developed for maritime navigation by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, the Mercator projection exaggerates the size of regions farther from the equator, making Europe and North America appear disproportionately large.
Equal Earth, introduced in 2018, preserves the relative areas of landmasses.
Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said maps “guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions.”
“They are therefore never neutral; when they present a distorted image of our planet, they risk perpetuating inaccurate representation that is passed down through generations,” he said.
U.S. representative Yaryna Ferencevych criticized the resolution, saying such initiatives were undermining the institution’s credibility.
“Instead of focusing on genuine problems... this body is debating map projects from the 16th century and their role in promoting reparations and cognitive justice,” she said before the vote.
France, which co-sponsored the resolution, also announced on Sept. 4 that its Foreign Ministry would stop using the Mercator projection in its diplomatic work.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot noted that Greenland appears almost as large as Africa on Mercator maps, while countries including the United States, Russia and China gain disproportionate visual prominence.
“Changing maps obviously doesn’t change the world,” he said. “But correcting a distorted representation is already an act of truth.”