The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution sponsored by African nations to move away from the Mercator map projection in favor of the Equal Earth map, which more accurately represents countries' true sizes.
Key points
- The 'Correct the Map' resolution was put forward by African Union member states and the Bahamas, passing with a 164-1 vote with six abstentions.
- The United States was the sole country to vote against the resolution, arguing it promoted an ideological agenda.
- France announced it would abandon the Mercator projection in favor of representations more faithful to actual surface areas.
- The 16th-century Mercator map visually expands landmasses near the poles, which critics argue historically minimizes Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.
Why it matters
The adoption of the Equal Earth map resolution challenges centuries-old cartographic standards that critics argue have disproportionately minimized the visual prominence of Africa and other Southern regions.
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