Overview
- The UN General Assembly approved the Togolese‑sponsored 'Correct the Map' resolution on Friday with 164 votes in favor, one against and six abstentions.
- The resolution urges use of equal‑area projections such as Equal Earth for instances where relative land size matters while leaving the Mercator projection available for navigation.
- France said it will stop using Mercator for official maps and Togo announced plans to convene African Union members, UNESCO and technology firms within months to coordinate curriculum and platform changes.
- The United States cast the sole no vote and criticised the measure as a low‑priority ideological effort, while some abstaining states raised practical concerns about disputed‑territory depictions.
- The campaign builds on long‑running cartographic debate: Mercator, designed for 16th‑century navigation, inflates polar landmasses so Greenland can appear similar in size to Africa even though Africa is about 14 times larger.