UN backs move away from traditional Mercator world map

The UN General Assembly on Friday passed a resolution, put forward by several African nations, calling on member states to move away from the centuries-old Mercator map projection in favor of a more accurate depiction of the continents. The resolution was backed by 164 countries, with six abstentions, while the United States was the only country to vote against it.

The measure was led by Togo, whose foreign minister argued that maps shape education and public perception, meaning a distorted view of the world risks being passed down through generations if left uncorrected.

Why the map is changing

The Mercator projection was created in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator for maritime navigation. It preserves shapes and angles accurately but distorts relative size - regions farther from the equator, such as Europe and North America, appear much larger than they really are, while areas closer to the equator, including Africa, appear smaller.

The resolution points to an alternative known as the "Equal Earth" projection, developed in 2018 by an international group of cartographers, which shows Africa, Latin America, South Asia and Oceania as considerably larger. It is a compromise projection that does not perfectly preserve either angles or area.

Reactions

The US representative to the UN criticized the resolution, saying the organization should focus on genuine problems rather than debating the role of a 16th-century map projection in matters of historical redress.

France, which supported the resolution, announced the same day that it would abandon the Mercator projection. The French foreign minister said changing maps does not change the world itself, but correcting a distorted depiction is an act of truth. France has recently been working to improve relations with its former African colonies, with which ties have remained strained.