On Friday, UN member states passed a resolution—by a vote of 164 to 1—advocating for map projections that more accurately reflect the true sizes of continents. This move marks the success of an African-led campaign against the 16th-century Mercator projection, which remains the most widely used map projection in the world today.
The United States cast the sole dissenting vote, dismissing the initiative as part of a "radical ideological project."
Six countries—Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine—abstained.
The resolution does not ban the use of the Mercator projection, nor does it mandate the adoption of alternatives. Instead, it encourages governments, schools, international organizations, and tech companies to use the "Equal Earth" projection—and other so-called equal-area maps—in contexts where relative size is crucial, and to educate the public on the inherent limitations of representing a spherical Earth on a flat map.
Beneath this seemingly technical debate lies a broader argument about history and power: Has a 16th-century map designed for European sailors distorted not only geographical facts but also, over generations, people's perceptions of an entire vast and complex continent?
"Maps shape our understanding of the world," Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said before the vote. "They guide education, fuel the imagination, and influence collective perception."
Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator devised the currently ubiquitous projection in 1569 to address practical challenges in maritime navigation. Because straight lines on the map correspond to constant compass bearings, sailors could use it to plot their courses.
However, maintaining directional accuracy came at the expense of area accuracy. The farther landmasses are from the equator, the more enlarged they appear.
For instance, Greenland appears roughly the same size as Africa on the map, even though Africa’s actual land area is about 14 times larger than Greenland’s. Northern Europe and North America are similarly enlarged compared to regions near the equator. Although originally designed for navigation, the Mercator projection remains commonplace in educational, media, digital, and official materials. A UN General Assembly resolution noted that these distortions lead to a "symbolic shrinking" of Africa and perpetuate an unbalanced worldview.
Togo spearheaded the negotiations on behalf of the African Group, acting on an initiative supported by the African Union.
The resolution characterizes the correction of such distortions as an act of "epistemic justice and memorial reparation," noting that the "Equal Earth" projection—developed in 2018—offers a more accurate representation of relative sizes.
Dussé emphasized that the move is not intended to condemn Mercator—acknowledging the projection's utility for navigation—nor to mandate the use of a single projection.
"A fair map does not change the world's geography; it changes the way we view the world," he said.
The United States, however, perceives deeper political motives behind the initiative.
The U.S. representative argued that the resolution makes a mockery of the institution's work and purpose, describing what is packaged as a harmless attempt to update cartographic scales as actually part of a broader, more radical ideological agenda.
The representative specifically singled out the resolution's references to reparations and "epistemic justice," calling such measures "parasites on our work here and the reason this institution is losing credibility."
France took the opposite stance. Hours before the vote, Foreign Minister Barrot announced that Paris plans to abandon the Mercator projection for its world maps, aligning the French government with the broader effort championed by the African Union.
This shift means that France itself—like the U.S. and Russia—will appear smaller on maps relative to countries near the equator.
This highlights the unusual dynamics of a debate that has persisted for decades. Equal-area maps do not make Africa appear larger; rather, they eliminate the exaggeration of landmasses near the poles inherent in the Mercator projection. Border Disputes
Ukraine expressed support for correcting historical distortions affecting Africa and other parts of the Global South, but objected to the way certain maps using the "Equal Earth" projection depicted Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
Its representative warned that endorsing this projection without adequate safeguards could open a "Pandora's box," leading to ambiguity regarding disputed territories on maps.
The European Union supported the resolution but voiced similar concerns.
Speaking on behalf of the bloc, Ireland’s representative emphasized that the measure applied only to the relative size of landmasses and had no bearing on sovereignty, territorial status, or internationally recognized borders.
The EU also stated that its support did not constitute an endorsement of the specific maps displayed on the "Equal Earth" website.
The resolution itself acknowledges a fundamental issue that no vote can resolve: no map projection can perfectly represent the Earth's curved surface on a flat plane. Every projection involves trade-offs regarding area, shape, distance, or direction, and each serves different purposes.
The resolution is non-binding, and the Mercator projection will not simply vanish into library archives, never to be seen again.
However, Friday’s vote overwhelmingly supported a point increasingly emphasized by many African governments: the choices we make regarding maps shape how generations perceive the world.
