The United Nations General Assembly will vote on a resolution to replace the traditional Mercator map with a more accurate representation of Africa's size.

The United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to vote on a resolution to formally phase out the Mercator projection, a world map that has been the global standard for nearly 500 years. Sponsored by Togo and the African Union, the resolution seeks to replace the traditional map with the Equal Earth projection, which more accurately displays the relative sizes of continents. Under the Mercator projection, regions near the equator appear significantly smaller than they are, causing Africa to appear similar in size to Greenland, even though Africa is actually 14 times larger. The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018, preserves the relative surface areas of landmasses while maintaining a balanced appearance. Robert Dussey, Togo’s foreign affairs minister, stated that the move is a scientific discussion intended to correct distorted perceptions of the global south. The French foreign ministry also co-sponsored the text, noting that the Mercator projection gives disproportionate visual prominence to northern regions like Russia and the United States. If the resolution passes, Togo plans to host an event in 2027 to coordinate the implementation of the new map across global institutions and technology brands.

Sources

• The Guardian
  UN to vote on adopting new world map that shows Africa’s true scale
• The Independent
  Even Trump has been fooled by the distorted world map – why it’s time to change it
• Yahoo
  France to abandon 'distorted' Mercator map projection: minister
• Newsweek
  U.N. Votes on Major Change to World Map: How Different Versions Compare

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Paywall and unreadable sources

• The New York Times
  U.N. to Vote on African Proposal for a New World Map