DavidKeys.com

For centuries, one of the world’s most familiar maps has given people a distorted impression of the relative size of continents. That could begin to change after the United Nations General Assembly endorsed a new world map projection designed to represent Africa and other landmasses more accurately.

On September 4, 2026, the General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a resolution promoting the Equal Earth projection, a map designed to preserve the relative areas of continents more faithfully than the traditional Mercator projection. The resolution was supported by 164 countries, while the United States voted against it and six countries abstained. (AP News)

The decision is not a worldwide ban on the Mercator map. Instead, the nonbinding resolution encourages governments, educational institutions and other organizations to consider using the Equal Earth projection for a more accurate representation of the world’s landmasses. (The Washington Post)

Why Does Africa Look Too Small on Traditional Maps?

The issue goes back to the Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569.

Mercator’s map was developed primarily to help sailors navigate. It became extremely influential because it preserves angles and directions, making it useful for maritime navigation.

The problem is that the projection dramatically distorts the apparent size of landmasses as they get farther from the equator.

As a result, areas in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres can appear much larger than they actually are.

One of the most striking examples is Greenland and Africa.

On a standard Mercator map, Greenland can appear roughly comparable in size to Africa. In reality, Africa is approximately 14 times larger than Greenland. (The Washington Post)

That visual difference becomes even more noticeable when Africa is compared with Europe and North America.

What Is the Equal Earth Projection?

The Equal Earth projection was introduced in 2018 by cartographers Tom Patterson, Bojan Šavrič and Bernhard Jenny.

Unlike the Mercator projection, Equal Earth is an equal-area projection, meaning it attempts to preserve the relative areas of continents and countries.

It does not make every aspect of the Earth perfectly accurate—no flat map can do that because the Earth is a three-dimensional sphere. Every world map involves some compromise involving area, shape, distance or direction.

However, Equal Earth is specifically designed to provide a more realistic visual comparison of the size of landmasses. (The Indian Express)

Africa Is Much Larger Than Many People Realize

The new map highlights something that can be difficult to appreciate when looking at a conventional world map: Africa is enormous.

The continent covers roughly 30 million square kilometers and is the second-largest continent by land area.

Its size is large enough to contain the United States, China, India, Japan and several European countries within its boundaries with land remaining. The frequently used comparison illustrates just how much traditional maps can affect our perception of geography.

The Equal Earth projection makes those relationships much easier to see.

Why the United Nations Is Supporting the Change

The campaign to “correct the map” was spearheaded by Togo and supported by countries across Africa and the African Union.

Supporters argue that maps aren’t merely technical tools. They also influence how people understand geography, economics, history and the relative importance of different regions.

Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey argued that maps influence education and collective perceptions. The campaign has also been supported by advocacy organizations seeking to change how Africa is represented in classrooms, newsrooms and digital platforms. (The Washington Post)

The campaign has sometimes been described as an effort to address the lingering effects of colonial-era representations of the world.

Is the Mercator Map Being Banned?

No.

That’s an important distinction.

The United Nations resolution does not prohibit the Mercator projection, nor does it legally require countries to replace their existing maps.

Instead, it encourages governments and institutions to adopt the Equal Earth projection or other more accurate alternatives when appropriate. (Reuters)

Mercator also remains useful for certain applications.

Because it preserves angles and directions, it has historically been valuable for navigation. The fact that another projection provides a better comparison of land area doesn’t make Mercator useless for every purpose.

What About Google Maps and Digital Mapping?

The UN’s decision could eventually influence how geographic information is presented in schools, textbooks, media organizations and digital mapping platforms.

However, changing the projection used by mapping technology isn’t as simple as replacing one image with another.

Different map projections are appropriate for different purposes. Online maps, navigation systems, geographic information systems and educational maps can require different approaches.

The resolution nevertheless sends a clear message that the familiar Mercator world map shouldn’t automatically be treated as an accurate representation of the relative size of continents.

The United States Was the Only Country to Vote Against It

The resolution passed with overwhelming support, but the vote also generated political controversy.

Of the 171 countries voting or abstaining, 164 supported the resolution, the United States voted against it, and six countries abstained. The abstentions were Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine. (AP News)

The U.S. opposition reflects a disagreement over the purpose and framing of the initiative, with Washington criticizing it as an ideological project rather than simply a cartographic correction. (The Washington Post)

A Map Can Change How We See the World

The UN’s decision isn’t really about making Africa physically larger. Africa hasn’t changed size.

What changes is how its size is represented on a flat surface.

That distinction matters because most people encounter geography through maps rather than by looking at a globe. Students learn about continents from classroom maps. News organizations display maps when reporting international events. Digital platforms use maps to communicate everything from climate patterns to elections and economic data.

When a map consistently makes some regions appear much larger or smaller than they actually are, it can influence people’s mental picture of the world.

The Equal Earth projection offers a different perspective—one in which Africa occupies the enormous portion of the planet that it actually does.

What Happens Next?

The UN resolution is likely to encourage a broader conversation about which map projections should be used in education, government, media and technology.

Togo has indicated that it wants to move toward updating educational materials, while supporters hope technology companies and other organizations will consider adopting more accurate projections. (Reuters)

The Mercator projection isn’t disappearing overnight, and there is no single map capable of showing every aspect of the spherical Earth perfectly.

But the UN vote could mark an important shift in how the world thinks about maps.

The Bottom Line

The United Nations General Assembly’s endorsement of the Equal Earth projection is more than a change in cartographic style. It represents an effort to give people a more accurate understanding of the relative size of the world’s continents—especially Africa.

The familiar Mercator map remains useful for navigation, but it was never designed to accurately compare the size of continents.

Africa was always much larger than it looked on the map. Now, the world may finally start seeing it that way. (AP News)