By William Madouk
Africa has taken its fight for a fairer image of the continent to the United Nations, and this time the issue is not borders, politics or natural resources — it is the map itself.
The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly backed a resolution calling for more accurate representations of the world’s land masses, particularly Africa, which supporters say has long been made to look smaller than it really is.
The resolution, sponsored by Togo on behalf of the African Group, received 164 votes in favour, one against and six abstentions. The United States was the only country to vote against it.
The initiative, known as “Correct the Map”, challenges the continued widespread use of the 16th-Century Mercator projection.
The projection was developed mainly for navigation but distorts the size of land masses, particularly those far from the Equator.
One striking example is Greenland.
On a Mercator map, Greenland can appear roughly comparable in size to Africa. In reality, Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland.
Togo has led the campaign, with strong backing from the African Union.
Speaking ahead of the UN vote, Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said: “A fair world begins with a fair map.”
The campaign promotes the Equal Earth projection, an alternative designed to show the relative size of continents more accurately.
Dussey said Togo plans to lead by example by changing the maps used in its schools.
“Togo will be the first country to change our own geography books,” he said.
He added: “In the classroom, we need to change it to give an example to all the countries in the world.”
AU welcomes the vote
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf welcomed the UN decision and praised Togo’s leadership.
“The adoption of this resolution marks an important step forward,” Youssouf said.
He also congratulated AU member states and the African Group at the UN for their “unity and collective mobilization” behind the initiative.
The AU says the Mercator projection “significantly understates the true size of the African continent” and is encouraging international institutions, schools, publishers and digital platforms to gradually adopt maps that better reflect actual land areas.
Youssouf’s message was direct: “Africa must be represented as it truly is: in its true dimensions and in its rightful place in the world.”
A map that changed how the world looks
The debate is about more than geography. Supporters of the initiative argue that maps influence how people understand the world, especially children learning geography in schools.
The Mercator projection enlarges areas closer to the North and South Poles while reducing the apparent size of regions around the Equator.
Africa, which straddles the Equator and covers about 30 million square kilometres, is therefore visually diminished on the familiar map.
The proposed Equal Earth projection seeks to correct that distortion by preserving the relative area of continents.
The Mercator map is not being banned
The UN resolution does not legally require countries to stop using the Mercator projection.
It also does not prevent its continued use for navigation, where the projection remains useful.
Instead, the resolution encourages governments, educational institutions, international organisations, publishers and technology companies to consider more accurate alternatives.
Togo says it wants to take the campaign beyond the UN vote and engage governments, schools and technology companies involved in maps, GPS and other location services.