The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution encouraging member states and institutions to use a world map projection that more accurately represents the size of Africa and other continents. The resolution, passed on Friday with 164 votes in favor, one vote against from the United States, and six abstentions, promotes the use of the “Equal Earth” projection over the traditional Mercator map, which has been widely used since the 16th century.

The resolution was sponsored by Togo and supported by the African Union (AU), whose 54 member states endorsed the Equal Earth map earlier this year. The campaign behind the initiative, known as “Correct the Map,” argues that the Mercator projection significantly distorts the relative size of continents, particularly Africa. For example, Greenland appears similar in size to Africa on the Mercator map, despite Africa being roughly 14 times larger in reality.

The Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, was originally designed to aid European explorers in navigation by preserving compass bearings. This design, however, causes landmasses near the poles to appear disproportionately large compared to those near the equator. Critics say this distortion contributes to misperceptions about the political and economic significance of different regions of the world.

Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey hailed the vote as a “historic moment,” emphasizing that the change goes beyond cartography to address issues of justice, dignity, and equality. He said that maps shape perceptions of peoples and continents and that correcting these representations is an important step toward a fairer worldview. The French Foreign Ministry also announced plans to cease using the Mercator map, describing the move as an “act of truth” in correcting historical distortions.

However, the resolution faced opposition from the United States, whose representative to the UN Economic and Social Council described the initiative as a distraction from more urgent global issues such as peace and prosperity. Yaryna Ferencevych criticized the vote as part of a “radical ideological project” and argued that it undermines the credibility of the UN by focusing on symbolic concerns rather than substantive international challenges. The US was also critical of previous UN resolutions on historical issues such as the transatlantic slave trade.

Geographers and advocates supporting the campaign stress that maps influence political and economic perceptions beyond their practical use as navigation tools. Lerato Mogoatlhe from Africa No Filter described the Mercator projection’s distortions as part of a “longest misinformation and disinformation” about Africa. Nonetheless, some experts point out that all map projections introduce some level of distortion, including the Equal Earth projection, which sacrifices shape accuracy to present landmass size more faithfully.

The UN resolution does not mandate the replacement of the Mercator map but encourages adoption of more accurate representations by governments, educational institutions, international bodies, and technology companies. The vote reflects ongoing efforts to address historical biases embedded in widely accepted global images and to promote a more equitable understanding of the world’s geography.