DistantNews
Support us
🇶🇦 Qatar /Culture & Society

How big is Africa really? Why the UN backed a new world map

From Al Jazeera · () English

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

At a glance

Explainer Documents & data Approved/passed
  • The UN General Assembly backed an African-led resolution encouraging member states to adopt the Equal Earth projection as a more accurate world map.
  • The resolution passed with 164 votes in favor, while the United States opposed it and six countries abstained.
  • The Mercator projection makes northern regions appear larger and compresses equatorial regions, leaving Africa looking similar in size to Greenland despite being about 14 times larger.

The United Nations has backed a new world map that makes Africa look closer to its actual size, challenging the centuries-old projection used in classrooms and atlases around the world.

The General Assembly supported the resolution on Friday by 164 votes. The United States voted against it, while six countries abstained. The resolution promotes the Equal Earth projection as “a relevant option for improving the accuracy of the cartographic representation of the world.”

Guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions.

· Robert DusseyTogo’s foreign minister described the broader influence of maps while supporting the resolution.

Togo led the initiative. Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said maps “guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions.” He added that the decision “reaffirms African reality.” France, which co-sponsored the resolution, also announced its support on Friday.

The map at issue differs from the Mercator projection, created in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator for maritime navigation. Mercator preserved the shapes and angles of landmasses relatively well, but it distorted their relative areas as it translated a globe onto a flat surface. It enlarged northern regions and compressed areas near the equator, making Europe and North America appear much larger while shrinking Africa and South America.

The resolution adopted today reaffirms African reality.

· Robert DusseyDussey characterized the UN vote as recognition of Africa’s true geographic scale.

Africa covers about 30.3 million square kilometers, enough to contain the United States, China, India and most of Europe. Yet on a Mercator map it appears roughly the same size as Greenland, which is about 14 times smaller. Latin America covers around 20 million square kilometers, including 17.8 million in South America. Oceania spans about 8.5 million square kilometers, mostly Australia, while South Asia covers about 5.1 million square kilometers and contains roughly a quarter of the world’s population.

Together, those four regions cover about 64 million square kilometers, more than 40 percent of the world’s land surface. Europe, by comparison, covers 10.2 million square kilometers.

A relevant option for improving the accuracy of the cartographic representation of the world.

· United Nations General Assembly resolutionThe resolution’s stated rationale for promoting the Equal Earth projection.
About this summary

Originally published by Al Jazeera in English. 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.

More Stories

From Our Blog