Overview
- The UN General Assembly is scheduled to vote Friday on a Togo‑led resolution recommending a gradual shift from the Mercator projection to the Equal Earth projection.
- Supporters say Mercator, created for 16th‑century navigation, inflates high‑latitude regions and makes Africa appear far smaller than it is — for example Greenland looks larger than Africa despite being much smaller.
- The motion names the Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018 to preserve relative area while keeping familiar continental shapes, and is backed by the African Union and about 54 AU member states.
- Togo has already planned a Lomé meeting with UNESCO, the African Union and technology companies such as Google Maps to map out implementation if the non‑binding UN recommendation passes.
- While UN General Assembly resolutions carry no legal force, adoption could prompt education ministries, standards bodies and major map platforms to change curricula and digital map displays, a shift driven by advocacy campaigns like #CorrectTheMap.