UN endorses accurate map of Africa after centuries of distortion
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
The United Nations General Assembly voted to encourage the use of map projections that accurately represent the size of Africa and other equatorial regions, moving away from the historically dominant Mercator projection.
Togo led the effort on behalf of the African Group and with the backing of the African Union, securing 164 votes in favour of the resolution.
For nearly 500 years, the Mercator projection has visually shrunk landmasses near the equator, including Africa, while exaggerating the size of those closer to the poles. The Mercator projection, created in 1569, prioritised maintaining accurate compass bearings for sailors, but this came at the expense of showing true area. This distortion made Greenland appear comparable in size to Africa on many maps, despite Africa being approximately 14 times larger, covering 30.3 million square kilometres to Greenland’s 2.1 million square kilometres.
The UN resolution recognises this as a problem that affects how the world understands Africa’s importance. The resolution asks governments, schools, media, and technology companies to use equal-area projections like the Equal Earth projection when displaying continental sizes. While the UN views correcting the map as important for cultural and geopolitical reasons, it also states that addressing issues like economic exploitation and insecurity in regions such as the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin are essential for real progress.
The UN suggests actions like increasing transparency in resource extraction, strengthening regional security forces, and investing in education and economic development within the African Continental Free Trade Area.
