The United Nations General Assembly has supported a resolution encouraging the use of a world map that represents Africa’s geographical size more accurately.
The initiative, led by Togo and supported by African states, promotes the Equal Earth projection as an alternative to the widely used Mercator map.
The resolution received 164 votes in favour, with six abstentions and the United States casting the only opposing vote. It is not legally binding.
The Mercator projection enlarges land masses closer to the poles while making equatorial regions appear smaller. This distortion has contributed to Africa being visually underestimated in classrooms, publications and digital media.
Africa is approximately 14 times larger than Greenland, although traditional Mercator maps can make the two appear similar in size.
Adopting more accurate maps is therefore not merely a technical change. It could influence how future generations understand Africa’s physical scale, resources and place in the world.
