NEW YORK / GENEVA — The United Nations General Assembly has reportedly voted overwhelmingly in favour of adopting the Equal Earth cartographic projection across international bodies, treaty organizations and affiliated educational curricula.
The resolution, sponsored by Togo and supported by a broad coalition of Global South nations, seeks to replace the 1569 Mercator projection, which critics have long argued gives an exaggerated visual representation of territories located farther from the equator.
Under the proposed standardized mapping system, the African continent would be represented in a way intended to more accurately reflect the relative size of its landmass.
Africa covers approximately 30.3 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest continent by land area.
Supporters argue that cartographic representation can influence how people understand geography, history and global relationships.
The debate surrounding world maps has gained renewed attention because conventional map projections can make regions closer to the poles appear substantially larger than their actual geographic size.
The Equal Earth projection was designed to preserve relative area more accurately while maintaining a visually recognizable world map.
African Union Commission Chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf was quoted as welcoming the development, describing accurate geography as important to equitable diplomacy and historical understanding.
The reported vote could mark a significant moment in the continuing global conversation about how geography is represented in classrooms, institutions and international discourse.
