UN Backs New World Map to Show Africa’s True Size, Making North America and Europe Look Smaller

The way the world appears on classroom walls, websites and printed maps could gradually change after the United Nations General Assembly backed an African-led initiative promoting a map projection that more accurately represents the relative size of continents.

The resolution, led by Togo on behalf of African countries, received overwhelming support at the UN. A total of 164 countries voted in favour, while the United States was the only country to vote against. Six countries abstained.

The initiative promotes the Equal Earth projection, a map developed in 2018 that aims to preserve the relative surface areas of continents more accurately than the widely used Mercator projection.

The decision has attracted attention because it changes something many people rarely question: how the planet is visually represented.

Why Africa Looks Smaller on Traditional Maps

The familiar rectangular world map commonly seen in schools and online is largely based on the Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. The projection was designed primarily for navigation because it preserves directions and angles, making it useful for sailors.

However, the system comes with a major visual drawback. The farther a location is from the equator, the more its apparent size is enlarged.

That means northern regions such as Europe, North America and Greenland can look significantly larger than they really are compared with areas around the equator.

Africa is one of the clearest examples. On some Mercator maps, Greenland appears comparable in size to Africa. In reality, Africa is roughly 14 times larger than Greenland.

The Equal Earth projection approaches the problem differently. It is designed as an equal-area map, meaning that the relative surface areas of countries and continents are represented much more accurately.

As a result, Africa occupies substantially more visual space, while North America and Europe appear smaller relative to their actual size.

African Countries Push for a Different Representation

Togo has been at the centre of the campaign, known as “Correct the Map.” The initiative has received backing from the African Union and is intended to encourage governments, educational institutions, international organisations and technology companies to consider more accurate map projections.

For supporters, the issue extends beyond cartography.

They argue that maps are educational tools that influence how generations of students understand geography and the relative importance of different parts of the world. According to the campaign, repeatedly seeing Africa represented as smaller than its actual area can contribute to misconceptions about the continent.

Togo has indicated that it intends to update its own school geography materials and encourage other countries to consider similar changes. The country also plans to work with international partners and technology companies to promote wider adoption of alternative projections.

The US Was the Sole Opponent

Despite the overwhelming international backing, Washington opposed the resolution.

The US argued that the discussion represented an ideological agenda and questioned whether the United Nations should devote attention to changing map projections when the organisation faces major international challenges.

The disagreement highlights an important distinction surrounding the vote: the resolution is not legally binding.

It does not outlaw the Mercator projection, nor does it require every country or company to immediately replace existing maps. Instead, it encourages wider consideration and use of equal-area projections when the objective is to communicate the actual relative size of land masses.

Mercator Maps Will Still Have a Purpose

The move does not mean the centuries-old projection has suddenly become useless.

Mercator remains valuable for certain forms of navigation because of the way it represents direction and angles. The campaign itself does not seek to eliminate its use for maritime or aerial navigation.

The argument is instead about choosing the appropriate map for the job.

A projection designed for navigation does not necessarily make the best choice for teaching students how large continents actually are. Equal Earth offers an alternative when comparing geographical areas is the priority.

France Also Moves Away From Mercator

France has backed the initiative and announced plans to move away from the Mercator projection for government use, choosing representations that better reflect actual surface areas and are suited to specific purposes. France has indicated that it will use the Eckert IV projection rather than adopting Equal Earth exclusively.

The development could therefore become more significant if other governments, schools, publishers and digital platforms follow.

For now, the UN vote is best understood as a political endorsement rather than an immediate global map replacement. The familiar Mercator map will continue to appear in many contexts.

But the vote has put a long-standing cartographic issue firmly into the global spotlight: a map can change the way people perceive the world without changing the geography itself.

With Africa now at the centre of an international push for more accurate visual representation, the maps used in classrooms, media and digital platforms may look increasingly different in the years ahead.