UN to vote on replacing Mercator map with accurate world representation

The United Nations General Assembly is set to vote on a resolution on Friday that would formally phase out the traditional Mercator map in favor of a projection that more accurately reflects Africa’s true size.

Robert Dussey, Togo’s foreign minister, said the resolution was sponsored by Togo and supported by numerous African Union member states, though he did not specify the exact count.

He described the debate as scientific rather than political, emphasizing that scientific evidence requires acceptance of the geographic reality.

While UN resolutions are not legally binding, a successful vote could prompt updates to educational curricula and digital mapping technologies that currently rely on the Mercator projection.

The Mercator projection, introduced by the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, was designed for maritime navigation and has remained the global standard for centuries.

However, the projection distorts areas near the equator, making them appear smaller, while inflating the size of higher‑latitude regions; Africa, for instance, appears similar to Greenland, despite being fourteen times larger.

A Change.org petition supporting the #CorrectTheMap campaign argues that Africa could contain the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico, and much of Europe with land to spare. The petition has gathered over 11,000 signatures, and the African Union endorsed the effort in August 2025, subsequently asking Togo to lead the initiative.

Critics contend that the Mercator projection has subtly reinforced global power imbalances by diminishing the visual presence of the Global South and exaggerating the size of northern nations, thereby perpetuating biases in trade, development, and education.

Arno Peters, a German historian, was a prominent opponent of the Mercator projection. In 1973 he introduced the Peters (Gall‑Peters) map as an alternative representation.

Togo’s #CorrectTheMap campaign promotes the 2018 Equal Earth map, a design created by an international group of cartographers that aims to provide a more equitable view of the continents and help decolonize educational materials.

JJ Enoch, a senior associate at the geopolitical risk firm JS Held, agreed that the Mercator projection understates Africa’s scale. He linked the campaign to broader African aspirations for greater influence in international institutions and control over the continent’s representation.

He added: “Adopting an equal‑area map … would provide a more accurate basis for education and public understanding, while signalling that Africa’s demographic, economic and geopolitical importance should no longer be viewed through inherited and distorted conventions.”

Togolese officials are optimistic that the vote will succeed, citing the precedent of a Ghana‑sponsored UN resolution earlier this year that described the slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity and passed with 123 votes in favor.

Building on that momentum, Togo plans a conference in Lomé next quarter with UNESCO, the African Union, and technology companies such as Google Maps to outline the resolution’s implementation.

Dussey said: “To those who say why now, I say, why not? When we look at the world map … it is time for us to change the narrative.”

He added: “It’s time for us in Africa to take responsibility to change what we can change ourselves.”

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