UN adopts African-backed proposal for a more representative world map

The United Nations General Assembly has backed an African-led push to change how the world is shown on maps. The resolution calls for a more equitable representation of countries and regions, with particular attention to Africa’s perceived underrepresentation in conventional maps.

The measure passed on Friday with 164 countries voting in favor. Six countries, Ukraine, Estonia, Lithuania, Georgia, Moldova and Serbia, abstained. The United States voted against it.

The resolution points to the Mercator projection, created by European cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569 for maritime navigation. Because it transfers the globe’s curved surface onto a flat map, it makes areas far from the Equator appear larger than they are. The projection remains common in classrooms and some navigation and mapping systems.

The African Union and other advocacy groups support the “Correct the Map” campaign, which promotes alternatives and seeks to show how map projections shape perceptions of countries’ size and importance. The resolution says conventional distortions can symbolically minimize Africa, Latin America and South Asia and create misconceptions about their socioeconomic conditions, infrastructure needs, development potential and prosperity.

It also warns that inaccurate visual representations can reinforce prejudice in environmental, geopolitical and security discussions. The vote renews efforts to replace long-standing cartographic conventions with a map that presents the planet’s regions in more proportionate visual terms.