UN ‘Correct the Map’ Resolution: Why Equal-Area Maps Matter

The UN General Assembly’s African-led “Correct the Map” resolution is a push for fit-for-purpose cartography. Adopted on September 4 by 164 votes to one, with six abstentions, it encourages governments, schools, international organizations and technology companies to use Equal Earth or other equal-area projections when maps are meant to compare the size of countries and continents. The United States cast the sole vote against. 437

It is not a ban on the Mercator projection, nor does it establish one mandatory world map. Its central proposition is narrower: when relative area is the message, the map should preserve relative area. 37

What the resolution seeks to change

The measure targets the routine use of Mercator-style world maps in classrooms, official communications and public-facing products where readers are likely to infer the relative scale of places. Mercator expands landmasses toward the poles. As a result, Greenland can appear roughly comparable in size to Africa, although Africa is about 14 times larger. 416

Equal-area projections address that specific problem. Equal Earth preserves the relative area of landmasses, so Africa, South America and other lower-latitude regions occupy proportionately more space than they do on a Mercator map. That makes it better suited to teaching or communicating comparative geographic scale. 4048

Why supporters call it a matter of representation

The initiative was led by Togo as part of the African Union-backed Correct the Map campaign. Supporters argue that familiar map conventions have helped make Africa appear smaller and more peripheral in the public imagination than its actual scale warrants. The resolution therefore treats projection choice as more than a design decision: it is also a question of how educational and institutional maps shape perception. 43846

Terms such as cognitive justice and memorial reparation describe this political and cultural argument rather than a technical cartographic category. The technically testable point is simpler: a map designed to compare area should not use a projection that systematically distorts area.

Why Mercator is not being discarded

No flat world map can preserve every property of a globe. Mapmakers must trade among area, shape, distance and direction.

Mercator has a continuing specialist role because it preserves local angles and directions, a property that made it highly useful for navigation. The UN resolution recognizes this practical distinction by encouraging alternatives for appropriate educational and public uses rather than prohibiting Mercator altogether. 537

The emerging norm is therefore fit for purpose:

• Use Equal Earth, Eckert IV or another equal-area projection when comparing the scale of countries and continents.
• Use Mercator where its directional and angular properties are needed, including navigation and specialized geospatial contexts.
• Treat borders, labels and territorial status as separate editorial and legal decisions that must remain accurate regardless of projection.

Who backed the campaign

Togo led the diplomatic effort under an African Union mandate. The AU had already endorsed the Correct the Map of Africa Initiative and called for a move away from Mercator toward alternatives such as Equal Earth. 4647

The draft was advanced by African Union member states along with the Bahamas. Reporting identified France and the United Kingdom among the countries supporting the final resolution. 1639 The United States was the only opposing vote; six countries abstained. 437

Why France chose Eckert IV

France announced that it would move away from Mercator for its official world-map representation and use Eckert IV, an equal-area projection described as close to Equal Earth. The practical effect is to reduce the visual enlargement that Mercator gives to higher-latitude countries, including France, the United States and Russia. 18

The available reporting supports the broader rationale—more faithful representation of relative area—but does not establish a definitive official explanation for selecting Eckert IV over Equal Earth specifically. Both serve the resolution’s underlying goal better than Mercator when comparative size is the point.

Borders and occupied territory still require care

Changing projection does not settle political geography. An equal-area map can show territorial boundaries accurately, but map publishers still need clear policies on internationally recognized borders, disputed claims and occupied territory.

That is especially consequential for Ukraine. Map products have at times depicted occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian or as “disputed,” illustrating that projection choice and border treatment are separate issues. The UN has affirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, including Crimea. 1924

Available sources do not substantiate a specific Ukrainian intervention on the Correct the Map resolution itself. The sound takeaway is broader: a shift toward equal-area maps should not blur sovereignty, normalize occupation or replace careful border attribution.

What happens next

The resolution is nonbinding, so adoption does not automatically change school atlases, government websites or digital basemaps. Its effect depends on implementation by institutions that choose maps and build mapping products. 37

Togo’s role has been to advance the campaign internationally, while the African Union Commission and Togo have outlined consultation with member states, technical experts and education stakeholders, including a continental workshop and a roadmap for gradually aligning educational systems with Equal Earth. 50

The resolution also explicitly addresses technology companies, schools and governments. That matters because map projections now appear not only in printed atlases, but also in search products, dashboards, news graphics, textbooks and digital mapping interfaces. 737

There is evidence of advocacy engagement with UNESCO, but the provided reporting does not verify a specific UNESCO implementation commitment or a named technology-company rollout plan. 52

The bottom line

The General Assembly did not declare Mercator wrong for every use. It endorsed a more precise standard: use an equal-area projection when the reader needs to understand relative size. For the African-led coalition behind Correct the Map, that change is both a cartographic correction and a way to challenge the long-standing visual minimization of Africa on the world’s most familiar maps. 437