The United Nations General Assembly voted on September 4, 2026, to adopt a new map that more accurately reflects the true size of continents, with Africa, Latin America, and South Asia appearing larger than in the traditional Mercator projection. The United States was the only country to vote against the resolution, which was led by Togo and the African Union.
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UN approves resolution in support of map that shows Africa's true size Reuters
NEW YORK, Sept 4 - The United Nations on Friday voted for a shift away from the 16th-century Mercator global map towards one more accurately reflecting countries' true size, a resolution sponsored by African states to counter perceptions that the continent is peripheral.
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The UN General Assembly on Friday voted to shift away from the 16th-century Mercator map, designed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator, for a more accurate one reflecting the true size of continents. The resolution, spearheaded by several African countries and co-sponsored by France, was backed by 164 countries. The US voted against and six other states abstained.
The UN General Assembly voted to adopt a map that more accurately shows the size of the continents. Only the United States voted against the measure, which projects the country as smaller than on traditional maps.
The UN General Assembly has backed a resolution to change to maps that more accurately show the true size of Africa.
The United Nations voted on Saturday for a shift away from the 16th-century Mercator global map towards one more accurately reflecting the true size of countries.
The U.S. was the only country to vote against the U.N. resolution, which encourages the use of an “Equal Earth” map. The U.S. described it as a “radical ideological project.”
Africa has long been represented as smaller than its real size in maps, which are largely based on an ancient projection.
The United Nations General Assembly voted to adopt a new map that more accurately depicts Africa's size. The U.S. was the only country to vote against the map, while six other countries abstained.