The United Nations General Assembly has voted to adopt a new world map projection that better reflects the true size of countries, following years of pressure from African nations urging the UN to correct what they describe as a centuries-old cartographic distortion.
The “Correct the Map” resolution, put forward by African Union member states along with the Bahamas, passed with overwhelming support: 164 member states voted in favor, six abstained, and only the United States voted against it.
Why the Change? The Problem With the Mercator Projection
The resolution aims to give fairer geographic representation to regions of the world, particularly Africa, arguing that current map distortions have led to a symbolic shrinking of the continent in global perception.
Most widely used world maps today are based on the Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. The projection was originally designed for maritime navigation and remains widely used for that purpose.
However, it’s far less useful as a general reference map of the world, since it distorts scale significantly. Countries located farther from the equator appear disproportionately larger compared to those nearer to it.
Greenland, for example, appears larger than South America and roughly comparable in size to Africa on a Mercator map. In reality, Greenland is roughly the same size as the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Africa is actually about 14 times larger than Greenland.
Some critics of the Mercator projection have argued that its continued widespread use stems partly from how it visually enlarges and centers Europe, along with other Western regions like North America, a pattern they say has helped reinforce ideas of Western dominance over time.
The UN resolution notes that this distortion has contributed to a diminished perception of the size of Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. It further states that the distortion has helped downplay the socioeconomic realities, infrastructure needs, development potential, and prosperity of the Global South, while potentially fueling environmental, geopolitical, and security-related biases.
France Signals Support for the Switch
The resolution proposes replacing the Mercator projection with the Equal Earth projection, which represents the actual surface area of world regions far more accurately.
On the Equal Earth map, introduced in 2018, Europe appears noticeably smaller, Brazil grows larger, and Greenland shrinks dramatically in size. Africa, meanwhile, appears substantially larger than it does on a Mercator map.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated that France will move away from the Mercator projection in favor of a representation that more accurately reflects countries’ actual surface area.
“The United States, Russia, and China receive disproportionate visual prominence compared to Africa, Latin America, or Southeast Asia,” he said.
The Road to the Vote
This UN vote follows the African Union’s own adoption of the Equal Earth map back in March, after which Togo, representing the African Union, formally called on UN member states to follow suit.
New Zealand has also previously taken issue with the Mercator map. A 2018 tourism advertisement humorously suggested New Zealand had “disappeared” from world maps altogether, a nod to its position tucked into the map’s bottom-right corner.
What This Means for Digital Maps
Digital mapping platforms like Google Maps currently still rely on a version of the Mercator projection. The draft resolution urges technology platforms to engage in discussions with UN member states and regional organizations toward adopting more geographically accurate projections going forward, though any changes to widely used digital mapping tools would likely take time to materialize.
While the debate over map projections might seem like a niche cartographic issue, the UN’s vote reflects a broader conversation about how visual representations of the world can shape global perception in ways that outlast their original, practical purpose. Whether platforms like Google Maps and textbook publishers actually follow suit remains an open question, but the overwhelming support behind this resolution suggests real momentum behind the shift.