Overview
- The UN General Assembly approved the Togo-sponsored “Correct the Map” resolution on Friday, September 4, 2026, with 164 votes in favor, one against and six abstentions, and the United States casting the sole opposing vote.
- The resolution urges use of area-equivalent projections such as Equal Earth because the Mercator projection, created in 1569 for navigation, inflates polar regions and makes Africa and other equatorial areas appear much smaller than they are.
- Togo and the African Union led the campaign, with Togo’s foreign minister saying maps shape perception, and Togo announcing plans to revise school geography materials by the end of 2026.
- The measure is nonbinding so actual change depends on national curricula, UN and UNESCO policies and cooperation from digital mapping platforms that currently rely on Web/Mercator variants.
- Some governments reacted quickly — France said it will abandon Mercator in official use — while critics, led by the US delegation, called the issue ideological, leaving implementation gradual and politically contested.