Full Breakdown
UN General Assembly Endorses “Equal Earth” Map to Better Represent Africa’s Size
9/6/2026, 12:24:33 AM
Core Event
The vote was 164 in favour, one against, and six abstentions. The sole dissenting vote came from the United States; the abstaining states were Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine. The resolution encourages governments, schools, international organisations and technology firms to use equal-area projections—most notably the 2018 Equal Earth projection—when the relative size of continents matters, while affirming that the traditional Mercator projection remains suitable for navigation.
Background & Context
The Mercator projection, devised by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, preserves angles for navigation but enlarges landmasses near the poles and shrinks those near the equator. Consequently, Africa appears roughly the same size as Greenland on many world maps, even though Africa’s land area (? 30.3 million km²) is about 14 times larger than Greenland’s (? 2.2 million km²).
An African-led “Correct the Map” campaign, coordinated by the African Union (AU) and groups such as Africa No Filter, argued that these distortions reinforce a “cognitive injustice” that marginalises equatorial regions. The campaign secured Togo’s foreign minister Robert Dussey to sponsor the resolution on behalf of the African Group.
Data & Statistics
- Africa’s area: ? 30.3 million km².
- Greenland’s area: ? 2.2 million km².
- Vote tally: 164 for, 1 against (U.S.), 6 abstentions.
Official Statements & Responses
The United Nations Secretariat clarified that the resolution does not ban the Mercator projection nor compel any legal change; it merely recommends broader adoption of equal-area maps for educational and informational purposes.
Criticism & Opposition
Ukraine abstained, expressing concern that the Equal Earth projection depicts parts of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia in a way that conflicts with UN resolutions on sovereignty, warning that adoption “could open a Pandora’s box” of mapping ambiguity.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources differ on the timeline for national implementation. The resolution’s non-binding nature also leaves the pace of adoption uncertain; no concrete enforcement mechanism is outlined.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Equal Earth preserves the relative surface areas of continents and, as much as possible, shows their shapes as they appear on a globe,” — Bojan Savric
- “Today's resolution promotes equal-area maps like Equal Earth across classrooms, media, and international institutions, ensuring the world map finally reflects Africa's true scale, weight, and place in the world.” — African Union
- “We will abandon the Mercator projection in favour of map representations tailored to specific uses, more faithful to actual surface areas and in line with the recommendations of cartographers and scientists,” — Noël Barrot, French foreign minister
What’s Next
- Togo plans to meet AU member states and mapping-technology partners within six months to coordinate promotion of the Equal Earth projection.
- France will phase out the Mercator projection in its national curricula, moving toward the Eckert IV or Equal Earth designs.
- The AU intends to engage textbook publishers and digital-map providers to incorporate equal-area maps, though exact rollout dates remain to be set.
