UN Adopts New World Map Showing Africa Bigger, US Smaller in Landmark 2026 Vote

UN Adopts New World Map Showing Africa Bigger, US Smaller in Landmark 2026 Vote

The United Nations General Assembly has approved a historic resolution encouraging countries to adopt a new world map that more accurately reflects the true size of continents — a move that makes Africa appear significantly larger while shrinking North America and Europe. The United States was the only nation to vote against it.

On September 4, 2026, the UN General Assembly passed the resolution with 164 votes in favour, 6 abstentions, and just one opposed — the United States. The six countries that abstained were Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Serbia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The resolution, spearheaded by the West African nation of Togo and backed by the African Union, encourages governments, schools, and technology companies to phase out the centuries-old Mercator projection in favour of the Equal Earth projection developed in 2018. Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, who presented the resolution, declared: “A fair world begins with a fair map.”

The resolution seeks to correct a distortion that has shaped global perceptions for over 450 years. The Mercator projection was created in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator specifically for maritime navigation. While it preserves accurate angles and directions, it severely distorts land area proportions: regions near the poles appear much larger than they actually are, while equatorial regions appear smaller. The most glaring example of this distortion is the comparison between Africa and Greenland. On a standard Mercator map, the two landmasses appear roughly the same size. In reality, Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland — Africa covers about 30.3 million square kilometres, while Greenland covers just 2.1 million. Advocacy groups point out that Africa could contain the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico, and most of Europe within its area and still have space left.

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The Equal Earth projection, developed by cartographers Bojan Savric, Bernhard Jenny, and Tom Patterson in 2018, preserves the relative surface areas of continents while maintaining recognisable shapes. Under this new projection, Africa appears in its true massive scale — dramatically larger than in the familiar Mercator map. North America and Europe, by contrast, appear noticeably smaller. “Equal Earth preserves the relative surface areas of continents and, as much as possible, shows their shapes as they appear on a globe,” cartographer Bojan Savric told AFP in 2025. “Correcting the map means restoring to continents in the minds of people the reality of the true dimensions,” said Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey. He stressed that the campaign is “not directed against any nation, region, or civilization” but serves a “universal goal: to promote knowledge based on scientific rigour, respect for truth, and the equal dignity of peoples.”

American representatives dismissed the resolution as a distraction from pressing global issues. Speaking before the vote, US representative Yaryna Ferencevych argued that “such resolutions and the ideological agenda they promote hinder the work of this institution and lead to a decline in its credibility.” She urged member states to reject the text and focus instead on “genuine issues of international peace, prosperity, or good relations between nations.” Despite the US objection, the resolution passed overwhelmingly. It carries no legal force and does not mandate the replacement of existing maps — rather, it encourages institutions to educate the public on the limitations of flat maps and to adopt more accurate representations. The resolution “in no way challenges the use of the Mercator projection for maritime and aerial navigation, for which it remains fully suited,” the Togolese ministry said in a statement.

African leaders hailed the vote as a significant victory for continental representation. The African Union Mission to the UN welcomed the resolution as a “significant step towards ensuring that the map of the world reflects Africa’s true scale and place in the world.” Togo’s Dussey announced that Togo would become the first country to replace its geography textbooks with the new maps by the end of 2026, and the nation plans to engage with African Union members and other supporters to promote adoption globally. France, a co-sponsor of the resolution, expressed strong support. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a speech at the Sorbonne: “Changing the map obviously won’t change the world… but correcting a distorted representation is itself an act of truth.” The advocacy group “Unfiltered Africa,” which promotes the Equal Earth map, welcomed the UN decision, stating: “We hope to see accurate maps in schools, textbooks, newsrooms, businesses, and the digital platforms used by billions of people every day.”