The United Nations has approved a resolution to phase out the traditional Mercator map in favor of a more accurate map that better represents Africa's size.

UN Votes To Adopt New World Map That Shows Africa’s True Scale (Togo-sponsored resolution called to phase out traditional map that depicts continent as similar size to Greenland) -- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/04/un-vote-world-map-mercator-equal-earth-africa <-- shared media article -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Earth_projection <-- details of the Equal Earth projection -- [just a reminder that the 16th C Mercator Projection was designed as an aid to magnetic compass navigation (rhumb lines, etc) --- NOT as some form of continued colonial domination/oppression (although that clearly existed in other ways); this is despite the technically inept and historically illiterate #poppycock that the #BostonPublicSchools, etc would try and have you believe otherwise!! (P.S. #JustSayNoToGallPeters!)] “The United Nations has voted to adopt a resolution for the world to formally phase out the traditional Mercator map of the globe in favour of one that more accurately displays Africa’s size. In a session at its headquarters in New York, the UN general assembly officially retired the 16th-century Mercator projection in favour of one based on the more accurate 2018 Equal Earth design. At the session, 164 countries voted in favour of the resolution. Only the US voted no, with its representative saying the resolution was “superfluous”. There were six abstentions. UN resolutions are non-enforceable, so countries and institutions will not be mandated to use only the new projection or forbidden from using the old one. However, the outcome is expected to result in an update of classroom curriculums and everyday technology given the wide usage of the Mercator projection in education, technology and governance. Togo, which spearheaded a campaign for the resolution on behalf of the African Union, said the resolution “recognises and affirms that disproportionate cartographic representations, particularly those resulting from the Mercator projection, have had lasting cognitive, educational, cultural, geopolitical and socioeconomic effects, contributing to a drastic reduction in the perceived size of Africa and other regions of the world in the global collective imagination”. Speaking before the resolution passed, Robert Dussey, Togo’s foreign affairs minister, said: “This discussion is not a political discussion [but] a scientific discussion, because there is scientific proof so we all have to accept the reality.” The Mercator layout was introduced by the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569 to help sailors navigate the seas. Almost five centuries later, it remains the global standard...” #GIS #spatial #mapping #cartography #global #worldview #Africa #UN #UnitedNations #Togo #EqualEarth #Mercator #mapprojection #JustSayNoToGallPeters #EckertIV #size #shape #countries #continents #globe #CorrectTheMap

“ The UN general assembly will vote on Friday on a resolution for the world to formally phase out the traditional #Mercator map of the globe in favour of one that more accurately displays #Africa’s size. Robert Dussey, Togo’s foreign affairs minister, said the resolution was sponsored by #Togo and backed by countries including the African Union’s 54 other member states. “ #maps https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/04/un-vote-world-map-mercator-equal-earth-africa

UN votes to adopt new world map that shows Africa’s true scale Togo-sponsored resolution called to phase out traditional map that depicts continent as similar size to Greenland The United Nations has voted to adopt a resolution for the world to formally phase out the traditional Mercator map of the globe in favour of one that more accurately displays Africa’s size. Only the US voted no. #Native #Indigenous #BIPOC #Africa

#UN approves resolution in support of #map that shows #Africa's true size https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-approves-resolution-support-map-that-shows-africas-true-size-2026-09-04/ #mercator