UN backs new map showing Africa’s true relative size with US alone in opposition

UN backs new map showing Africa's true relative size with US alone in opposition. Image caption, The Mercator projection is the map widely used across the globe but inaccurately depicts the sizes of countries and continentsByJaroslav LukivPublished5 September 2026Updated 6 September 2026 13:09 BSTThe UN has just called for the predominant world map to be replaced with one that more accurately reflects the true size of continents such as Africa.

What happened

Related topicsGreenlandUnited NationsAfricaMapsMore on this storyUN votes to adopt new world map to reflect Africa's true sizePublished1 day agoMapping the world The "Correct the Map" resolution adopted by the General Assembly aims to fix the discrepancy with the Mercator map, in which the African continent is shown as being of similar size to Greenland – even though it is in reality about 14 times larger. The UN adopted a new map, the Equal Earth projection, which better represents the true sizes of landmasses – but comes with problems of its own.

This fixes the Greenland-Africa size issue, allowing those who use it to get a sense of the comparative size of different landmasses, all while preserving straight lines of longitude and latitude. Flipped and shifted mapsImage source, Universal Images Group via Getty Images ImagesImage caption, This Mercator projection puts the Americas front and centre instead of Europe and AfricaIn the same way the apparent size of a landmass can influence its perceived importance, so can its prominence on a map.

Image caption, The Mercator projection is the map widely used across the globe but inaccurately depicts the sizes of countries and continentsByThomas Mukhwana, Africa correspondent, and Wycliffe MuiaPublished4 September 2026Updated 5 September 2026The UN General Assembly has voted to replace the traditional world map with one that more accurately reflects the size of Africa. The Mercator map, which has been in common use since the 16th Century, has come in for criticism as it shows Africa as being of similar in size to Greenland, even though it is actually 14 times larger.

The wider picture

In February, the AU's 54 member states adopted it, and said it "more accurately represents the sizes of all continents, particularly Africa". There have been many prominent attempts over the years to solve the problem of accurately representing the surface of a sphere on a flat rectangle, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. For Kenyan geographer Kioko Muendo, this has implicitly downplayed Africa's vast resources, population and investment opportunities. It was developed by a team of cartographers in 2018 to present the size and shape of landmasses more accurately, and was inspired by the 1963 Robinson projection – a map that shows the entire globe's surface at once.

As a result, the Equal Earth map was adopted by African Union members in February, before it was adopted by the UN. But it sacrifices the straight lines that made the Mercator projection perfect for navigating with – and it cannot be used for measuring the true distance between different places. The straight lines on the Peters map also do not represent true constant compass bearings and so are useless for navigation. The "Correct the Map" resolution, sponsored by Togo and backed by African Union (AU) members, passed with the support of 164 nations, including France and the UK.

What has been reported

US admits 'unfortunate error' after mislabelling countries on map of Africa Published31 JulyThe Mercator map was designed in 1569 by the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator to help European explorers navigate across the world. Online campaign group #CorrectTheMap said: "You could fit the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico and much of Europe into Africa and still have land to spare. "Africa's misrepresentation on world maps is not just a cartographic error – it's a narrative issue," Lerato Mogoatlhe from Africa No Filter, one of the groups behind the campaign to ditch the Mercator map, told the BBC.

It was part of efforts to stop the "world's longest misinformation and disinformation" about Africa, she said. More BBC news from Africa:'The crowd shouted that we'd stolen someone's genitals' – deadly rumours spread on social mediaPublished3 days agoDid a goat herder's lucky $200 nugget spark a gold rush in western Kenya? Published23 August'This star is for Africa' – Angélique Kidjo on making Hollywood Walk of Fame historyPublished20 August'If you started running, they shot you' – inside Nigeria's growing kidnapping crisisPublished27 AugustWhat is Ebola and why is stopping the latest outbreak so difficult?

Published25 AugustGo to BBCAfrica. com, external for more news from the African continent. Mercator mapImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Mercator projection has been around since the 16th Century and was vital for navigating the oceansThe now widely used Mercator map was created in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator.

What happens next

Its main purpose was to help European sailors navigate the oceans, as cartography Professor James Cheshire at University College London explained. "He wanted a straight line to be drawn on a map to look like a straight line in reality if you followed a compass bearing," he told the BBC. "That was what it was intended to do, and that's what it does brilliantly well. "To keep those angles correct on a flat map, Mercator had to stretch the grid lines wider as they moved away from the equator toward the poles.

His map accommodates for the curvature of the Earth by making countries near the equator seem much smaller than they are and countries nearer the poles appear stretched. The distortion is a result of it being impossible to accurately represent the surface of a globe on a two-dimensional chart. More than 450 years on, Mercator's creation is still the basis for many of the maps we see in classrooms, on TV and online, including Google Maps.

The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across npr.org, bbc.co.uk. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.