The UN General Assembly backed an initiative by African countries, promoted on their behalf by Togo, to more accurately depict the sizes of continents on world maps. At the heart of the debate is the move away from the familiar Mercator projection, which has been in use for several centuries and significantly distorts the relative areas of territories. The decision was adopted with 164 votes in favor and six abstentions; the United States was the only country to vote against.
The projection that “stole” Africa
The Mercator projection was created by the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. It worked well for navigation, helping sailors plot their courses, but it has a fundamental flaw: the farther a territory is from the equator, the larger it appears on the map. As a result, Africa visually looks much smaller than it actually is. The most striking comparison is with Greenland: on a Mercator map the two can appear roughly the same size in area, even though in reality Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland.
The “Correct the Map” campaign and the UN vote
It was precisely this visual distortion that became the foundation of the “Correct the Map” campaign, promoted by Togo on behalf of African countries. Supporters of the initiative argue that a map is not just a technical tool but also a way of shaping people’s perception of the world. In their view, the long-standing visual shrinking of Africa has influenced how the continent’s importance, its economic potential, and its place in world politics are perceived. As Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey put it on the eve of the vote, “a fair world begins with a fair map.” The resolution calls for the wider use of projections that more accurately reflect real areas — one of the main options named is Equal Earth, created in 2018 specifically to preserve the correct ratio of territorial areas.
What exactly the resolution changes — and what it does not
It is important to understand the limits of the document: a UN General Assembly resolution has no legally binding force and does not compel countries, schools, or technology companies to immediately abandon the Mercator projection. Nevertheless, supporters hope that the decision will create an international basis for a gradual transition to more accurate projections. In particular, the resolution contains a call for technology platforms to work with states and international organizations on implementing more accurate projections. At the same time, services like Google Maps currently use a variant of the Mercator projection, so the familiar world map will not disappear from screens overnight.
Contradictory data
Open sources contain a small discrepancy regarding the date of the vote. In a number of publications and in the basic description of the event, the vote is dated “the day before September 4” (that is, September 3, 2026), whereas the resolution itself and the related UN and media materials are tied to the September 4 session. The numerical parameters of the vote, however, are consistent everywhere: 164 votes in favor, six abstentions, and one vote against (the United States). The difference concerns only the exact day the vote was held, not the substance or outcome of the decision.
What this means for maps, schools, and digital services
Most likely, any changes, if they occur, will be gradual and will affect above all school atlases, textbooks, international organizations, media, and digital mapping services. On a “corrected” map, Africa becomes noticeably larger relative to Europe and Greenland, while territories near the poles, conversely, appear visually smaller. Thus, the UN decision by itself does not redraw the map of the world, but it establishes an international impetus toward a way of depicting the planet that more accurately shows the real sizes of the continents.
