The world looked different to us: Why the map was changed

The United Nations General Assembly has backed a new approach to depicting the world, responding to calls from African states and civil society groups for maps to show the continent’s size more accurately.

The resolution submitted by Togo and supported by African Union members received the backing of 164 UN member states. The United States was the only country to vote against it. Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine abstained.

The resolution urges governments and institutions to use the Equal Earth projection instead of relying so heavily on the traditional Mercator projection, used since the 16th century. Supporters and geographers say Equal Earth better represents the relative size of the continents. On the Mercator map, Greenland and Africa appear nearly equal in size. Equal Earth shows that Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland.

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Maps shape our perception of the world. They are used in education, they spark the imagination and they influence how societies assess things.

The decision does not prohibit the Mercator projection or require institutions to replace it. A UN message said the document only encourages more frequent use of Equal Earth. Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said before the vote, “Maps shape our perception of the world. They are used in education, they spark the imagination and they influence how societies assess things.”

The campaign group Africa No Filter welcomed the decision and called for accurate maps in schools, textbooks, media, business and digital platforms. France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X, “Of course, changing the map will not change the world. But correcting the distorted image means restoring the truth.” Critics say Mercator enlarges areas near the poles, such as North America and Greenland, while making Africa and South America look smaller. The Equal Earth projection, created in 2018, accounts for the Earth’s curvature and preserves actual continental area proportions.

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Of course, changing the map will not change the world. But correcting the distorted image means restoring the truth.