The United Nations General Assembly voted on Friday, September 4, 2026, to adopt a resolution titled "Correct the Map," which recommends the use of a world map that more accurately reflects the geographical size of Africa. The resolution was sponsored by Togo and backed by member states of the African Union and the Bahamas. It passed with 164 nations in favor, six abstentions, and the United States casting the only vote against it.
The resolution recommends replacing the Mercator projection, a map format used since 1569, with the Equal Earth projection. The Mercator map was originally designed by cartographer Gerardus Mercator to assist European explorers in navigation, but it distorts landmasses by enlarging areas further from the equator. As a result, Greenland appears roughly equal in size to Africa on Mercator maps, despite Africa being 14 times larger in reality. The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018, is designed to preserve the relative area of continents.
Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey stated that the map change is intended to address colonial-era legacies and shape perceptions of the continent's importance. Kenyan geographer Kioko Muendo noted that the previous distortion downplayed Africa's resources and investment potential. Conversely, U.S. representative Yaryna Ferencevych stated that the resolution pursued an "ideological agenda" and was a distraction from "genuine problems of international peace." The resolution is non-binding and clarifies that the Mercator projection remains suitable for maritime and aerial navigation.
The scale of this shift involves institutions across the nations that supported the measure. In France, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that his ministry would stop using the Mercator map. Togo intends to update its own school geography materials by the end of 2026. Advocacy groups like #CorrectTheMap point out that Africa's landmass can contain the land areas of the U.S., China, India, Japan, Mexico, and much of Europe combined.
What happens next depends on the voluntary compliance of private technology companies and educational publishers. The United Nations itself will begin using the new representation, and the Togolese government plans to lobby other nations and international organizations to follow suit. The African Union formally adopted the Equal Earth projection in February 2026.