UN: Africa should be bigger on the maps
On Friday, September 4, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for world maps to more accurately reflect the relative size of the continents. Introduced by Togo on behalf of the African Group, the resolution received 164 votes in favor, one against from the United States and six abstentions.
The “Correct the Map” resolution encourages governments, international organizations, educational institutions and technology companies to use equal-area map projections when accurate size comparisons matter.
On the maps of the Mercator projection, developed in the 16th century and still widely used around the world, the land areas located closer to the equator seem disproportionately small. Africa, with an area of 30.3 million square kilometers, looks the size of Greenland, which is almost 14 times smaller.
The UN resolution is advisory. It does not call for a ban on Mercator projection maps, but it could promote the wider use of equiplanar projections in school curricula, educational institution publications, and digital platforms.
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