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🇷🇴 Romania /Culture & Society

Historic UN vote puts Africa’s true size on the world map

From Adevărul · () Romanian

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

At a glance

News Named sources Approved/passed
  • The UN General Assembly adopted the “Correct the Map” resolution, supporting a world map that more accurately reflects Africa’s size.
  • Togo introduced the resolution with backing from African Union members; 164 countries supported it, the United States opposed it, and six abstained.
  • The nonbinding vote is expected to influence maps used by institutions worldwide, despite the continued practical compromises involved in two-dimensional mapmaking.

The world map could soon look different after nearly 500 years of Mercator projection, following a United Nations vote focused on Africa’s size. The General Assembly adopted the “Correct the Map” resolution, backed by 164 countries including France and Britain. The United States was the only country to vote against it, while six countries abstained.

A fair world begins with a fair map.

· Robert DusseyTogo’s foreign minister made the statement before the UN vote.

Togo initiated the resolution with support from the African Union’s member states. The campaign challenges the familiar Mercator map because it makes Africa appear roughly comparable in size to Greenland, even though Africa’s land area is 14 times larger. Critics say that distortion can make the development needs and potential of countries near the Equator appear smaller than they are.

The Mercator projection was designed in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator to help European explorers navigate around the world. Its distortions reflect a basic problem in mapmaking: a globe cannot be represented accurately on a flat surface without compromises. The projection makes countries near the Equator look smaller, while countries closer to the poles appear larger.

A map is never neutral. It shapes perceptions and influences how the place of peoples and continents in the world is understood.

· Robert DusseyDussey made the remark at a UN briefing about the proposed map change.

Cartographers created the Equal Earth projection in 2018 to address that imbalance. In February, the African Union’s 54 member states adopted it, saying it “more accurately represents the sizes of all continents, especially Africa.” Before the UN vote, Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey told Reuters, “A fair world begins with a fair map.” He had earlier told a UN briefing, “A map is never neutral. It shapes perceptions and influences how the place of peoples and continents in the world is understood.” The resolution is not legally binding, but it is expected to prompt changes to maps used by institutions around the world.

more accurately represents the sizes of all continents, especially Africa.

· African Union member statesThe African Union used this description when adopting the Equal Earth projection.
About this summary

Originally published by Adevărul in Romanian. 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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