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🇵🇱 Poland /Culture & Society

164 countries back a change to the world’s most popular map, with only the United States opposed

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Approved/passed
  • The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution encouraging countries and institutions to use a map projection that represents the relative sizes of countries and continents more accurately.
  • The resolution passed with 164 votes in favor and one against, from the United States, while Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine abstained.
  • The measure does not ban the Mercator map, but could influence educational materials and technology if countries adopt the recommendation.

The world’s most familiar map could face growing competition after 164 countries backed a resolution encouraging a more accurate portrayal of the size of continents and countries. The United States was the only country to vote against it, while six countries, including Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine, abstained.

Maps shape our perception of the world. They guide education, feed the imagination and influence collective perceptions.

· Robert DusseyThe Togolese foreign minister’s words were quoted by the United Nations in support of the resolution.

The resolution, initiated by Togo and supported by African Union member states, does not prohibit the Mercator projection. It urges countries and institutions to consider alternatives that better reflect actual areas. The Mercator map, created by Flemish mathematician Gerardus Mercator in 1569, makes regions near the equator appear much smaller than they are and enlarges areas near the poles.

The distortion is especially visible in comparisons involving Greenland and Africa. Greenland appears only slightly smaller than Africa on the Mercator map, although it is 14 times smaller in reality. One alternative, the equal-area cylindrical projection commonly known as the Gall-Peters map, gives a different impression of the world’s territorial scale. Togo’s submission said Africa could contain the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico and much of Europe, with considerable space still remaining.

political agenda

· United StatesThe United States used the phrase when explaining its opposition to the resolution.

Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, whose words were quoted by the United Nations, said maps shape how people understand the world, influence education and feed collective perceptions. The United States said the resolution promoted a specific “political agenda” and distracted from “the real problems of international peace, prosperity and good relations.”

the real problems of international peace, prosperity and good relations

· United StatesThe United States said the resolution distracted from these issues.

UN resolutions are not legally enforceable, but broad support could encourage updates to school curricula and technologies. Geography professor Mark Monmonier of Syracuse University, quoted by Reuters, said the Mercator projection was useful only for navigation. Togo said it plans to organize a conference with UNESCO, the African Union and technology companies in the first quarter of next year to develop an implementation plan.

Beyond this very narrow application, using it makes no sense.

· Mark MonmonierThe Syracuse University geography professor, quoted by Reuters, was discussing the Mercator projection’s use outside navigation.
About this summary

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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