The world map is changing, and Africa wants the world to see its true size

For generations, millions of people have grown up looking at a world map that makes Greenland appear almost as large as Africa. But Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland.

That difference is at the heart of a new debate over how the world is represented on maps, after the United Nations General Assembly backed an Africa-led campaign to move away from the centuries-old Mercator projection.

The resolution, led by Togo on behalf of the African Union, was adopted on Friday with 164 countries voting in favour. The United States was the only country to vote against it, while six countries, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine, abstained.

The resolution promotes the use of the 2018 Equal Earth projection, which gives a much more accurate picture of the relative size of the world's continents.

So why does a map matter?

At first glance, this may sound like a minor issue for geography teachers and cartographers.

It is not.

Maps shape how people understand the world.

The Mercator projection was created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, primarily to help sailors navigate. It was not designed to show the true size of countries and continents.

The further a place is from the Equator, the more its size is exaggerated.

That is why Greenland can appear roughly the same size as Africa on a familiar Mercator map, even though the African continent is vastly larger.

Africa is not the only region affected. Countries and territories in the northern parts of the world appear much larger, while Africa, Latin America and other areas closer to the Equator appear smaller than they really are.

The problem, supporters of the UN resolution argue, is not simply that the map is inaccurate.

It is that people see these maps in classrooms, books, media reports, websites and digital platforms from childhood. Over time, that can influence how they imagine the relative importance and scale of different parts of the world.

Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey has argued that it is time to change that narrative.

The campaign is therefore about more than replacing one map with another. It is also part of a wider African push to challenge inherited systems and representations that supporters say have shaped perceptions of the continent.

Why this is a game changer

The UN resolution is not legally binding. It does not ban the Mercator projection, and countries, companies and institutions are not being forced to immediately replace every map they use.

But the political message is powerful.

For the first time, the world's largest international organisation has formally backed the argument that the way continents are commonly displayed should be reconsidered.

That could influence school textbooks, educational materials, international organisations, media graphics and mapping technology.

Togo has already indicated that it plans to change its school geography materials and use the initiative to encourage other countries and technology companies to follow.

And that is where the resolution could have its biggest impact.

A child in Zambia, Ghana, India or Brazil could grow up seeing a map that gives a much clearer sense of the actual size of Africa.

Instead of seeing Africa as a relatively small shape surrounded by apparently enormous countries and territories, the map would show the continent for what it is: the world's second-largest continent by land area, stretching across more than 30 million square kilometres.

Why did the United States vote against it?

The vote was overwhelmingly in favour, but the United States stood alone in opposing the resolution.

Washington described the initiative as an ideological exercise and argued that the UN should be concentrating on more pressing international problems.

Six other countries abstained rather than voting against it.

Ukraine, for example, said it had concerns about how the Equal Earth projection depicts Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia. Its representative said the issue raised concerns about sovereignty and territorial integrity.

That distinction matters.

The six abstentions should not be presented as six countries rejecting Africa's campaign. Their reasons were different, and in Ukraine's case, the objection was specifically linked to the depiction of its territory.

Africa is changing the picture

There is also an important lesson in the vote itself.

An initiative led by an African country and supported by the African Union received backing from 164 UN member states.

That does not mean the world will wake up tomorrow with every map replaced.

The Mercator projection will continue to have legitimate uses, particularly in navigation. No flat map can perfectly represent a spherical Earth, and every projection involves some form of distortion.

But the UN vote has changed the conversation.

For Togo and its African partners, the argument is simple: if maps are supposed to help people understand the world, they should not give people a misleading impression of the size of the world's continents.

The map may be changing slowly.

But the bigger question is whether the way Africa is seen by the world is changing with it.