UN approves new map to better represent the size of continents

The United Nations General Assembly has approved a resolution urging a more faithful picture of the world, with particular attention to the way maps portray Africa.

The resolution, approved on Sept. 4, 2026, received 164 votes in favor. The United States voted against it, while six other countries abstained. Togo promoted the initiative, which seeks to reduce the distortions created by widely used map projections.

The resolution calls for the gradual move away from the Mercator projection, created in 1569 and still common in schools, media and digital platforms. It encourages the United Nations and organizations such as UNESCO to adopt more accurate alternatives, including Equal Earth, a design developed in 2018 to represent the continents’ surface areas more precisely.

The measure does not ban Mercator or force countries to replace their maps. Instead, it invites member states and other organizations to use and promote models that better reflect the actual dimensions of the continents.

Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey told the General Assembly that maps used for generations do not faithfully show the size of the continents. He argued that the distortion has symbolically minimized Africa and other regions, and that maps influence how societies understand the world. The United States rejected the resolution, describing it as part of a broader ideological project and criticizing the General Assembly’s discussion of cartography alongside concepts such as reparations and cognitive justice.

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The maps used for generations do not faithfully reflect the surface area of the continents.