By Eshioromeh Sebastian
The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution championed by African nations to correct a 500-year-old cartographic error that has visually diminished the African continent on world maps.
The “Correct the Map” resolution, spearheaded by Togo on behalf of the African Group, was adopted with overwhelming support, marking a significant diplomatic victory for the continent.
The resolution challenges the continued use of the Mercator projection, a mapping system developed in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator primarily for maritime navigation.
While useful for sailors plotting courses, this projection severely distorts the relative sizes of landmasses. Areas farther from the Equator appear disproportionately larger, while equatorial regions, including much of Africa, appear significantly reduced.
The most glaring example of this distortion is the visual comparison between Africa and Greenland. On Mercator maps, both appear roughly comparable in size, yet in reality, Africa is approximately 14 times larger than Greenland.
The resolution does not ban the Mercator projection but encourages governments, educational institutions, international organisations, media outlets and digital platforms to progressively adopt map projections that more accurately reflect relative land areas, particularly the Equal Earth projection developed in 2018.
The draft resolution expressed concern that the distortion contributes to minimising the perceived sizes of Africa, Latin America and South Asia, thereby perpetuating an unbalanced view of the world. It also noted that such distortions contribute to minimising the extent of socioeconomic realities, infrastructure needs, development potential and prosperity in the Southern regions.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, welcomed the adoption and commended the leadership of the Republic of Togo and the commitment of President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, under whose impetus Togo championed the initiative on behalf of Africa.
The Chairperson congratulated AU member states and the African Group in New York for their unity and collective mobilisation in support of the initiative.
“Beyond cartography, this initiative underscores the importance of representing Africa on the basis of objective and scientifically established realities,” the AU communiqué stated.
Togo’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Robert Dussey, who led negotiations on behalf of the African Group, emphasised the broader significance of the initiative, noting that a map is never neutral as it shapes perceptions and influences how the place of peoples and continents in the world is understood.
“A fair map does not change the geography of the world, it changes how we see the world,” he stated. The initiative builds on the African Union’s adoption of the Equal Earth Map in February 2026 and forms part of the broader agenda on historical justice and reparations.
The United States cast the sole vote against the resolution, dismissing it as part of a radical ideological project and objecting particularly to its references to reparations and cognitive justice.
In contrast, France announced hours before the vote that it would abandon the Mercator projection in favour of maps that more accurately depict surface areas. The French Foreign Minister noted that the United States, Russia and China take on a disproportionate visual prominence compared to Africa, Latin America or southeast Asia, adding that distortions eventually take root in perceptions and that the time has come to correct them.
Ukraine, which abstained, expressed concern that some Equal Earth maps depict Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia, warning that endorsing the projection without safeguards could create ambiguity over disputed territories.
The European Union, which supported the resolution, stressed that the measure applied only to relative sizes of landmasses and had no bearing on sovereignty or internationally recognised borders.
The resolution, though non-binding, represents a significant symbolic victory for Africa. Campaigners argue that the centuries-old distortion has contributed to perceptions of Africa as smaller, peripheral and less important than it truly is.
The African Union Commission will continue working with Togo, member states and relevant partners to support implementation efforts, including integration of accurate map projections across education systems, digital platforms and international institutions. As the AU communiqué declared: “Africa must be represented as it truly is: in its true dimensions and in its rightful place in the world.”
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