United Nations votes in favor of map showing accurate size of Africa, America opposes

The United Nations General Assembly has voted to change the current map of the world, which more accurately shows the size of Africa.

America was the only country which opposed this proposal. The proposal got the support of 164 countries including France and Britain, while six countries did not participate in the voting.

Opposing the voting, the US representative said that it makes a mockery of the work and purpose of the United Nations.

Togo was a supporter of this proposal and members of the African Union also supported it.

This voting in the United Nations is not binding, but it will see changes in the world map used by organizations around the world.

The world map that has been in use since the 16th century is being criticized because it makes Africa appear to be the same size as Greenland, whereas in reality it is 14 times larger.

Critics say this underestimates the development needs and potential of countries located near the equator.

The Mercator map was designed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. It was designed to help European explorers travel around the world.

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What's wrong with the current map?

The errors in Gerardus Mercator's map are because it is impossible to accurately represent the surface of a globe on a two-dimensional chart.

Whenever a map of the world is made, some compromise has to be made.

The Mercator map shows the curve of the Earth, in which countries near the equator appear smaller than their actual size, while countries near the poles appear larger.

In an attempt to resolve this error, a team of map experts created a map of equal area in 2018, which they named Equal Earth Projection.

In February, the African Union's 54 member states adopted it, saying it "more accurately reflects the shape of all continents, especially Africa".

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"You could fit the US, China, India, Japan, Mexico and large parts of Europe inside Africa and still have some land left," said online campaign group #CorrectTheMap.

Ahead of Friday's vote, Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dusse told Reuters news agency: "A fair world begins with a fair map."

Earlier he had said in a UN briefing, "A map is never neutral. It shapes perceptions. It has an impact on how people and continents understand the situation in the world."

He was supported by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who said that his ministry was going to stop using the Mercator map.

"Changing the map obviously doesn't change the world," he said. But correcting a damaged map is an important task.

But US Representative to the UN Yarina Ferencevich said that this resolution makes a mockery of the work and purpose of the UN General Assembly.

"Instead of focusing on the real problems of international peace, prosperity or good relations, the organization is debating 16th-century map projects, reparations and their role in promoting 'cognitive justice'," he said.

In March, the US also strongly criticized it when it passed a resolution declaring the trans-Atlantic slave trade "the gravest crime against humanity".

Why does Africa look so small on the map?

"The downsizing of Africa on world maps is not just a cartographic error. It's a matter of narrative," Leroto Mogoethle of Africa No Filter, one of the groups involved in the campaign to remove the Mercator map, told the BBC.

He said it was part of efforts to stop "the world's longest period of misinformation and disinformation" about Africa.

According to Kenyan geographer Kioko Muendo, the Mercator map indirectly underestimated the African continent's vast resources, population and investment opportunities.

"Maps are more than just guides for travellers. They shape how areas are viewed politically and economically," he told the BBC.