UN General Assembly Endorses Equal Earth Map to Correct Africa’s Representation

The United Nations General Assembly has officially endorsed a resolution encouraging a global shift away from the 16th-century Mercator projection in favor of the Equal Earth map. The resolution, which passed on Friday, September 4, 2026, with 164 votes in favor, aims to address long-standing concerns regarding the visual distortion of landmasses. By promoting a projection that more accurately reflects the true proportions of continents, the initiative seeks to counter historical perceptions that have often relegated the African continent to a peripheral status in global education and media.

Togo spearheaded the diplomatic effort, working in coordination with the African Union to champion the change. While the resolution is not legally binding and does not prohibit the use of the Mercator map for its intended purpose—maritime and aerial navigation—it represents a significant symbolic and educational pivot. The move is part of a broader campaign by African nations to address colonial-era legacies in global standards, with Togo announcing plans to update its own national geography curriculum by the end of the year.

The Mercator map, designed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in the 16th century, was created specifically to assist European navigators. Its mathematical design preserves angles, which is essential for sea travel, but it achieves this by significantly expanding the size of landmasses as they move away from the equator toward the poles. This distortion results in regions like Greenland and North America appearing disproportionately large, while landmasses near the equator, particularly Africa, are visually diminished.

Geographers have long noted that the Mercator projection is ill-suited for general educational purposes. Mark Monmonier, a professor of geography at Syracuse University, noted that outside of its specific utility for navigation, there is little justification for its continued dominance in classrooms and media. In the Equal Earth projection, which was developed in 2018 to follow the Earth's curvature, Africa appears approximately 14 times larger than Greenland—a stark contrast to the Mercator map, where the two often appear similar in size.

Togo’s leadership in this resolution was framed as a matter of global fairness and accurate representation. Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, speaking ahead of the vote, emphasized the psychological and educational impact of cartography. "A fair world begins with a fair map," Dussey stated, adding that maps serve to guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions of global importance. The initiative is viewed by its proponents as a necessary step toward decolonizing the tools used to teach geography.

The resolution received overwhelming support from the General Assembly, with 164 nations voting in favor. The initiative is expected to extend beyond government policy, with Togo planning to engage with international organizations, technology companies, and developers of GPS and location-based services over the next six months. The goal is to encourage a transition in digital platforms and textbooks, ensuring that the visual representation of the world aligns more closely with physical reality.

The vote saw a high degree of international consensus, though it was not unanimous. The United States was the only member state to vote against the resolution. In its explanation, the U.S. delegation characterized the move as an "ideological agenda," arguing that the focus on map projections served as a distraction from more pressing issues of international peace, prosperity, and diplomacy. Six nations—Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, and Ukraine—abstained from the vote.

Conversely, many nations expressed strong support for the shift. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot took to social media to endorse the resolution, stating, "Changing the map obviously doesn't change the world. But correcting a representation that distorts it is already an act of truth." Advocacy groups, including Africa No Filter, also welcomed the decision, calling for the adoption of the Equal Earth projection in newsrooms, businesses, and digital platforms that reach billions of users daily.

While the UN resolution does not mandate a global replacement of the Mercator map, it sets a clear diplomatic precedent for institutional change. Togo has committed to being the first nation to overhaul its school geography materials, with the transition expected to be completed by the end of 2026. This serves as a pilot for the broader African Union campaign, which intends to pressure international bodies to adopt more accurate cartographic standards.

The next phase of the campaign involves a series of consultations between African Union member states and international partners. These discussions will focus on the practicalities of updating digital infrastructure, including the mapping software and GPS systems that underpin modern navigation and location services. Whether this diplomatic endorsement will lead to a widespread shift in private-sector mapping remains an unresolved question, but the resolution has successfully elevated the debate over cartographic accuracy to the highest level of international discourse.