The United Nations General Assembly has voted to replace the traditional world map with one that more accurately reflects the size of Africa.
The “Correct the Map” resolution, sponsored by Togo and backed by African Union (AU) members, was supported by 164 countries, including France and the United Kingdom. The United States was the only country to vote against the resolution, while six countries abstained.
Although the UN vote is non-binding, it is expected to lead to changes in the maps used by institutions around the world.
The Mercator map, which has been widely used since the 16th Century, has faced criticism because it depicts Africa as being similar in size to Greenland, despite Africa being 14 times larger.
Critics argue that the distortion contributes to the development needs and potential of countries near the equator being minimised.
The Mercator map was designed in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator to assist European explorers with navigation across the world.
The distortion results from the difficulty of accurately representing the curved surface of the Earth on a two-dimensional map. Any world map requires compromises in how the Earth’s surface is represented.
The Mercator projection makes countries near the equator appear smaller than they are, while countries closer to the poles appear larger.
In an effort to address this distortion, a team of cartographers created an equal-area map in 2018 known as the Equal Earth projection.
In February, the African Union’s 54 member states adopted the projection, saying it “more accurately represents the sizes of all continents, particularly Africa.”
Online campaign group #CorrectTheMap said: “You could fit the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico and much of Europe into Africa and still have land to spare.”
Ahead of Friday’s vote, Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey told Reuters: “A fair world begins with a fair map.”
He had earlier told a UN briefing that maps are not neutral because they shape perceptions and influence how the place of peoples and continents in the world is understood.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot backed the initiative, saying his ministry would stop using the Mercator map.
“Changing the map obviously doesn’t change the world. But correcting a representation that distorts it is already an act of truth,” he said.
However, Yaryna Ferencevych, a US representative at the UN, criticised the resolution, saying it mocked the work and purpose of the UN General Assembly.
“Instead of focusing on genuine problems of international peace, prosperity, or good relations, this body is debating map projects from the 16th Century, and their role in promoting reparations and ‘cognitive justice’,” she said.
In March, the United States also criticised the adoption of a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest crime against humanity.”
Lerato Mogoatlhe from Africa No Filter, one of the groups behind the campaign to replace the Mercator map, told the BBC that Africa’s misrepresentation on world maps is not simply a cartographic error but also a narrative issue.
She said the campaign was part of efforts to address what she described as the “world’s longest misinformation and disinformation” about Africa.
Kenyan geographer Kioko Muendo told the BBC that the Mercator map has implicitly downplayed Africa’s vast resources, population and investment opportunities.
“Maps are more than just guides for travellers – they shape how regions are perceived politically and economically,” he said.
