{ "story_id": "df9aca5c4f626f5bf2225a33dd765634", "desk": "drm3", "revision": 3, "published_at": "2026-09-04T23:36:39.000Z", "content_hash": "2fc79287bcf6ff8824a18c26c5136f6bef1340af1d98e1b995a73797573a5786", "hash_basis": "sha256 over `headline\\ndek\\nprose`, plus `\\n` + the canonical citations JSON when any source is placed, plus `\\n#blog` for blogs", "basis": { "headline": "UN votes to replace Mercator map with Africa-accurate projection; US sole no vote", "dek": "UN General Assembly votes 164-6 to adopt Africa-accurate world map; US sole no vote.", "prose": "The UN General Assembly voted on 2026-09-04 to adopt a resolution introduced by Togo and supported by African Union members to replace the traditional world map with a new version that more accurately depicts Africa's size; 164 states voted in favor, 6 abstained, and the United States was the only nation against. [^1][^2][^4]\n\nThe UN resolution, which is non-binding, urges governments, schools, international organizations, and technology companies to use the 'Equal Earth' projection and other area-accurate maps when relative sizes matter. [^3] Togo's foreign minister Robert Dussey wrote on X after the vote that it was a 'historic moment' and that the decision goes beyond cartography, involving justice, dignity, and equality, and that correcting the map means correcting how we see the world. [^5] The resolution does not seek to ban the Mercator projection outright but aims to establish more proportionally accurate maps as a new global norm. [^6]\n\nThe UN resolution was brought by Togo with the African Union's backing, according to Togo's foreign minister Robert Dussey. [^7] A team of cartographers created the Equal Earth projection in 2018 as an equal-area world map intended to correct the size distortions of the Mercator projection. [^8] The African Union's 54 member states adopted the Equal Earth projection in February. [^9]\n\nThe Mercator map, designed in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator to aid European navigation, distorts land sizes by making countries near the equator appear smaller and those nearer the poles appear larger. [^10] The UN voted to adopt the new world map in a non-binding vote, which will lead to changes in maps used by institutions around the world. [^11] The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018, shows continents in their true proportions, whereas the Mercator projection makes Africa appear smaller than it is. 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