The United States has emerged as the sole country to vote against a United Nations resolution seeking to promote world maps that more accurately represent the true size of Africa and other regions, arguing that the initiative undermines the credibility and purpose of the international body.
The UN General Assembly adopted the Togo-led resolution, titled “Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation and Promoting Equitable Representation of the World’s Regions, Particularly Africa,” with 164 member states voting in favour, one against and six abstentions.
The resolution promotes the use of more proportionate map projections, particularly the Equal Earth projection, to address distortions associated with the centuries-old Mercator projection, which significantly enlarges land masses closer to the poles while making regions around the equator, including Africa, appear much smaller than they are.
Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland, although the Mercator projection often makes the two land masses appear broadly comparable in size. The African-led campaign argues that such distortions have had lasting educational, cultural, geopolitical and socioeconomic consequences by shaping global perceptions of the continent’s geographical and strategic weight.
However, the United States dismissed the resolution as a misplaced priority and argued that the UN was devoting valuable attention to an issue that did not address the organisation’s most pressing responsibilities.
“This resolution mocks the work and purpose of this institution,” the U.S. representative said in an explanation of vote, arguing that the initiative could not be separated from what Washington described as a broader ideological agenda.
The United States maintained that, while the initiative was presented as an effort to update cartographic proportions, the debate had expanded into broader discussions about colonialism, reparations and what some supporters have described as cognitive justice.
Washington argued that the United Nations should instead focus on what it described as genuine global challenges, including international peace, prosperity and good relations among nations.
“Resolutions like this one and the ideological agenda they promote are barnacles on our work here and the reason this institution is losing its credibility,” the U.S. representative said.
The representative further argued that resolutions of this nature contributed to declining confidence in the UN and affected how seriously the organisation was regarded internationally.
“When the United Nations questions why it is losing legitimacy in the world and is not taken seriously time and again, we point to resolutions such as this,” the representative said, urging member states to reject the text.
The resolution’s supporters, however, rejected the suggestion that the initiative was merely symbolic or ideological. Togo, which spearheaded the proposal with the backing of the African Union, has argued that the question of map representation is grounded in scientific evidence and has significant consequences for how Africa and the Global South are perceived.
Togo’s Foreign Minister, Robert Dussey, described the campaign as part of a broader effort to confront historical distortions and ensure a fairer global perception of Africa, stressing that the initiative was not intended as an attack on Europe or any other civilisation.
“A fair world begins with a fair map,” Dussey said ahead of the vote, adding that the Mercator projection’s widespread use had contributed to Africa being visually diminished in the global imagination.
The resolution is non-binding and does not prohibit the use of the Mercator projection, which remains useful for maritime and aerial navigation. Instead, it encourages governments, educational institutions, international organisations and other stakeholders to consider map projections that more accurately reflect the relative size of the world’s land masses.
Togo has announced plans to begin updating its geography materials and will push for broader discussions with African states, international institutions, schools and technology companies on the wider adoption of more proportionate world maps.
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