GoKawiilUN votes 164-1 to replace Mercator map with size-accurate projection
The United Nations passed a resolution, backed by the African Union, urging adoption of map projections that preserve the true relative size of continents instead of the 500-year-old Mercator projection. The vote passed 164 to 1, with the United States the lone dissenting country. Togo's foreign minister argued that maps shape how people understand the world's balance of power.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The Mercator projection, designed in 1569 mainly for sea navigation, has long distorted global perception by making Europe, Russia and North America look far larger than Africa, Asia and South America really are, subtly reinforcing ideas of northern dominance. A shift toward more accurate projections, like Gall-Peters, could gradually reshape education, media and public perception of geopolitical size and importance, especially across the global south.
- The UN resolution passed 164-1, with only the US voting against it.
- Mercator's projection shrinks the apparent size of Africa and other equatorial regions relative to the West.
- The change reflects growing pushback against colonial-era cartographic bias favoring the global north.
ODT Equal Earth Projection Wall Map — If the UN vote has you side-eyeing Mercator, this is the fix for your wall: an equal-area world map that shows continents at their true relative sizes, so Africa finally looks as vast as it actually is. It's a great conversation starter for a classroom, office, or home, and a nice visual reminder that projections are choices, not neutral truths.
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Published there as: “The UN challenges five centuries of cartography”
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