UN Backs "Correct the Map" Push to End Africa's Size Distortion

(MENAFN) The UN General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution Friday urging wider use of world maps that more accurately depict the true size of countries and continents, passing 164-0 with six abstentions — the US cast the lone vote against.

The "Correct the Map" measure, sponsored by African Union member states and the Bahamas, calls for fairer cartographic depictions worldwide, with particular focus on Africa. It argues that distorted representations — especially those stemming from the Mercator projection — have driven lasting cognitive, educational, cultural, geopolitical and economic harm, fueling what the resolution calls a "symbolic minimization" of Africa in global perception.

The Mercator projection, devised by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, inflates the size of landmasses farther from the equator — making Greenland appear roughly equal to Africa despite the continent being nearly 14 times larger. Critics have long labeled the projection Eurocentric, arguing it reinforces a sense of Western dominance some have dubbed "cartographic colonialism."

The resolution instead promotes the Equal Earth projection, unveiled in 2018, which more faithfully represents relative land areas. It calls on governments, international bodies, schools and tech platforms to adopt equal-area maps, though the measure carries no binding force and does not ban continued use of the Mercator projection.

The vote caps a long-running campaign by African nations to reshape how the continent appears on globally used maps, building on the African Union's earlier endorsement of the initiative.

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