A Change to Africa’s Place on the Map

The world map could be heading for a major change after the United Nations General Assembly endorsed a proposal to replace the traditional map with one that shows Africa’s true geographic size more accurately.

Togo introduced the “Correct the Map” resolution, which received the full backing of African Union member states. A total of 164 countries voted in favor. The United Kingdom and France supported the proposal, while the United States was the only country to vote against it. Six states abstained.

The decision does not create a legally binding requirement. Its supporters nevertheless say it could lay the foundation for a gradual shift in the maps used by institutions, schools and media around the world.

The Mercator projection, widely used since the 16th century, has faced strong criticism because it depicts Africa and Greenland as roughly equal in size. In reality, Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland. Critics argue that this distortion has contributed to the global underestimation of the development needs and actual potential of countries near the Equator.

Flemish, or Belgian, cartographer Gerardus Mercator created the projection in 1569 to make navigation easier for European explorers. Mercator was also a geographer and mathematician. The size differences result largely from the technical difficulty of accurately displaying the three-dimensional surface of a spherical Earth on a two-dimensional plane.