UN approves resolution to replace the Mercator map with more equitable projections

The United Nations General Assembly adopted this Friday, with 164 votes in favor, the United States voting against and six abstentions, a resolution led by Togo and supported by the African Union (AU) that seeks for governments, international and educational organizations to stop using the Mercator world map in favor of others that better reflect the size of Africa compared to the rest of the world.

"A fair map does not change the geography of the world. It changes the way the world is perceived. And when our perspective becomes fairer, it lays the foundation for greater understanding, greater respect and peace between nations," said Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, African Integration and Togolese Abroad, during his presentation speech to the Assembly.

"Correcting the map is neither an aesthetic nor a symbolic exercise. It is a demand for scientific and pedagogical precision. It consists of remembering that all regions of the world count, that all people deserve to be seen in their rightful place and that Africa, like the rest of the regions, must appear in the collective consciousness, not in a reduced form through the distortions of the past, but must be recognized according to its reality, its contribution and its future," he added.

The resolution adopted, whose approval its promoters describe as “a historic milestone towards global cartographic equity”, does not advocate prohibiting the Mercator projection or replacing it in areas such as air or maritime navigation. Its objective is to move towards a more equitable cartographic representation of the world and encourages the use of other cartographic projections, such as the Equal Earth projection, created in 2018 by Bernhard Jenny, Tom Patterson and Bojan Šavrič, where it is especially relevant to reflect the real size of the continents: textbooks, atlases, institutional websites and maps used by the media.

A fair map does not change the geography of the world. It changes the way the world is perceived. And when our perspective becomes more just, it lays the foundation for greater understanding, greater respect and peace among nations.

Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, African Integration and Togolese Abroad

"The draft resolution and in particular the reference to the Equal Earth projection refers exclusively to the proportional representation of the surfaces of the continents. It does not affect in any way the delimitation, layout, condition or recognition of borders and should not be interpreted as a manifestation of a political, legal or territorial position that is its object. It is merely cartographic, scientific and pedagogical," Dussey added during his speech.

“The objective is not simply to replace one image with another, but to correct a deeply rooted narrative and allow Africa, finally, to be seen in its true dimensions,” Carlos Lopes, professor at the University of Cape Town and contributor to Africa No Filter, explains to this newspaper by email.

In the classic planisphere, created by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, Africa appears dwarfed in comparison to other territories such as Greenland or Canada. This is because the map, which was created to facilitate navigation, causes greater distortions as it approaches the poles, so Greenland looks similar in size to Africa, when in reality it is about 14 times smaller. It is impossible to project a sphere onto a two-dimensional surface without some form of distortion in shape or angles. Each projection has its advantages, disadvantages and distortions that, in the case of Mercator, affect the size of certain continents.

The adoption at the 79th UN Assembly, which concludes its ordinary sessions on September 8, is the latest milestone reached by the #CorrectTheMap campaign, an initiative promoted by the organizations Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa in 2025. For its promoters, the use of one projection or another is more than just a cartographic issue: “It is about representation, education, media images and the way in which different generations have understood the place and dimension of Africa in the world.”

Their claims are not new, but the campaign revived the debate at a time of postcolonial rupture and reaffirmation of African identity. In August last year, the African Union (AU) endorsed the initiative and later asked Togo to lead diplomatic efforts for its adoption at the UN Assembly. Now, this journey culminates with the approval of the resolution in New York, a step that places the cartographic representation of the world on the agenda of the international community.

During the session of the General Assembly, in the section where the States could explain the meaning of their vote, the representative of the United States announced that her country would vote against. He criticized that “instead of focusing on real problems of peace, prosperity or good relations, this body is debating issues of 19th century maps, talking about reparation and cognitive justice.” He added that resolutions such as the one presented and “the ideological agenda they promote” are “obstacles” to the organization's work.

For his part, the representative of Ukraine indicated that his country is not opposed “to the nuclear issues addressed in the draft resolution.” “However, what we cannot add to is the specific issue related to the Equal Earth cartographic projection referred to in the text,” he added. “It points to parts of Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation in flagrant violation of international law,” he said. “For this reason, as the draft encourages Member States to adopt and disseminate the Equal Earth mapping projection, they have to ensure that its application is fully consistent with the principles, norms and guidelines of the United Nations Charter and resolutions on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of States,” he added.

"The European Union and its Member States recall that, within the UN system, the representation of borders and territorial status remains governed by United Nations policy. Nothing in this resolution can be interpreted as modifying, overcoming or correcting those references or the internationally recognized borders reflected therein," the Irish representative, speaking on behalf of the EU, continued.

Next steps

The UN resolution is non-binding, that is, it is not mandatory for member states. However, in Lopes' opinion, these “are usually relevant because they establish a norm and grant legitimacy to changes that institutions might otherwise postpone indefinitely.”

"For almost five centuries, the Mercator projection has been the default image of the world, and no one has ever voted to choose it. What today's vote does is turn the distortion into an officially recognized issue: the world's governments jointly recognize that the way we have been representing the planet misrepresents Africa and the entire equatorial belt," says Fara Ndiaye, co-founder and deputy executive director of Speak Up Africa, one of the organizations behind #CorrectTheMap, in an exchange of messages from WhatsApp with this diary. Ndiaye considers that a resolution in the UN Assembly “provides each Ministry of Education, each publisher and each cartographic service with a reference point that did not exist yesterday.”

The resolution was presented by Togo and supported by the African Union. It is Africa that is setting the agenda for how Africa is represented, rather than simply asking to be represented differently.

Fara Ndiaye, Co-Founder and Deputy CEO of Speak Up Africa

For the deputy executive director of Speak Up Africa, it also matters where this initiative has emerged from. "The resolution was presented by Togo and supported by the African Union. It is Africa that is setting the agenda for how Africa is represented, instead of simply asking to be represented in another way," he emphasizes. "When we launched #CorrectTheMap together with Africa No Filter, the goal was to turn this issue from a cartographic curiosity to one of power and perception. A vote at the United Nations is the clearest sign so far that the argument has caught on," he adds.

"The next step must be implementation. The UN and its agencies should lead the process by adopting projections of equivalent areas in their publications, representations and digital products. Governments should review school curricula and official maps, while publishers, media, universities and technology companies—particularly digital mapping platforms—should be encouraged to follow the same path," says Lopes.

Regarding technology companies, Ndiaye agrees that “most people today know the world through a screen, and the default cartographic configurations of a handful of companies shape perception more than any printed atlas.” “There is no technical reason for them to continue using Mercator as the default projection where the relative size of continents matters, and a United Nations resolution eliminates the last excuse,” he argues.

"This will require clear technical guidelines, because no flat projection is perfect, but it is entirely possible to avoid the extreme distortions that have become normalized. Therefore, the resolution should launch a coordinated process involving cartographers, educators, international organizations and technology companies, along with a mechanism to monitor progress," adds Lopes.

The resolution also establishes a follow-up mechanism: it requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly on its implementation and provides for the inclusion of a specific item on the provisional agenda of the 83rd session of the Assembly.