In an historic shift for global cartography, the United Nations General Assembly has formally voted to endorse a ground-breaking resolution to phase out the centuries-old Mercator map projection in favour of representations that accurately depict Africa’s true physical scale. The resolution, spearheaded by Togo on behalf of the African Group and backed by the African Union, marks a monumental victory in a campaign to correct generations of visual distortion. Following an overwhelming vote backed by 164 member states in favour, international bodies, educational institutions, digital media platforms, and technology companies are now encouraged to adopt equal-area map projections.
The 2018 Equal Earth design – a “map for schools, organizations, or anyone who needs a map showing countries and continents at their true sizes relative to each other which depict continental landmasses in their authentic proportions” – is an example of solutions readily available to support this corrective measure. For nearly 500 years, wall maps in classrooms, textbooks, and digital mapping tools have relied predominantly on the Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. While brilliant for maritime navigation because it preserved directional bearings, the flat projection severely distorted surface area as it stretched away from the equator toward the poles.
The consequence was a profound geographic optical illusion. On standard Mercator maps, Africa appeared roughly the same size as Greenland. In physical reality, Africa measures over 30 million square kilometres, making it 14 times larger than Greenland and vast enough to fit the landmasses of China, India, Japan, Mexico, continental Europe, and the contiguous United States combined inside its borders with room to spare – as some pan-Africanist illustrations have shown. Speaking before the Assembly at UN Headquarters, Robert Dussey, Foreign Affairs Minister of Togo, emphasised that the proposition was grounded entirely in truth and science. “This discussion is not a political discussion; it is a scientific discussion, because there is scientific proof, so we all have to accept the reality”, Dussey stated prior to the assembly vote, adding, “a fair world begins with a fair map. Maps shape our understanding of the world, and this resolution recognises and affirms that disproportionate cartographic representations have had lasting cognitive, educational, cultural, and geopolitical impacts”.
Dussey further noted that the initiative was about confronting inherited colonial-era legacies and ensuring a balanced visual representation of the Global South. “The world is changing. Africa is also changing”, he offered. The action serves to change perceptions of the world audience about Africa. The African Union endorsed the proposition following widespread advocacy from grassroots coalitions, including the #CorrectTheMap campaign. African leaders argued that the persistence of the Mercator map visually diminished the demographic, economic, and political significance of the African continent on the world stage. Selma Malika Haddadi, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union, reiterated that stepping away from the Mercator projection is a necessary step toward reclaiming “Africa’s rightful place on the global stage”.
Support for the motion extended well beyond the African continent, with member states across Europe, Asia, and Latin America voting solidly in favour. Addressing the significance of the vote from Paris, France’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, praised the resolution as a crucial step toward accurate representation in global education and governance. “Changing the map obviously doesn’t change the world, but correcting a representation that distorts it is already an act of truth”, Barrot declared. He confirmed that France would actively transition away from the Mercator map across official capacities. “We will abandon the Mercator projection in favour of map representations tailored to specific uses, more faithful to actual surface areas, and in line with the recommendations of cartographers and scientists.”
The alternative projection championed by the motion, the Equal Earth map, was developed in 2018 by an international team of cartographers. Unlike earlier area-accurate attempts, such as the Gall-Peters projection, which preserved relative area at the cost of stretching continents vertically, the Equal Earth design maintains accurate surface areas while preserving the familiar, natural curvature and shapes of landmasses as they appear on a spherical globe. While UN General Assembly resolutions are non-binding recommendations, the political and moral weight of 164 nations agreeing on a unified standard is expected to trigger a swift shift across publishers, education ministries, and digital platforms. Major international bodies, including the World Bank, have already begun phasing out Mercator projections on web maps in favour of Equal Earth and similar equal-area projections.
For civil society groups and advocates who spent years campaigning for the change, the outcome is a triumphant validation. Representatives from Africa No Filter – an advocacy group that led global public awareness drives alongside Speak Up Africa – celebrated the General Assembly’s decision as a major cultural breakthrough. “We want to see accurate maps in schools, textbooks, newsrooms, businesses, and on the digital platforms billions of people use every day”, the advocacy group announced following the vote. “For generations, we have accepted a map that makes Africa appear smaller than it is. The UN vote proves we don’t have to”.
By establishing a clear, scientifically accurate standard for flat maps, the United Nations has taken a decisive step toward dismantling an ancient cartographic bias, ensuring that future generations view the world, and Africa’s true place within it, through a lens of geographic accuracy. While there are multitudes of conversations to be had about the ways through which the continent and its inhabitants relate to one another, this particular progression serves to progress long-founded efforts whose champions may be no more.
