The UN challenges five centuries of cartography
The United Nations has endorsed a resolution to move away from the 500-year-old Mercator map projection in favor of more accurate representations of landmass size. The move aims to correct the historical distortion that inflates the perceived size and importance of northern nations.
Why it matters
Cartography influences global perception, and this shift reflects a broader effort to address geographic biases in international education and politics.
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It's rare that map projections make international news. So last week was pretty exciting for cartographers. The UN endorsed a resolution to promote maps that accurately reflect the true size of continents, dethroning the 500-year-old Mercator projection in the process.
The decision, which was backed by the African Union, was nearly unanimous: 164 countries voted in favour and just a single nation opposed. (Yeah, you guessed it: a classic American Exception ™️.)
"Maps shape our understanding of the world," said Togo's foreign minister Robert Dussey before the vote.
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