Why the UN is pushing for a more accurate representation of global land sizes
The United Nations has passed a resolution to move away from the 16th-century Mercator map projection in favor of the Equal Earth projection. The initiative, led by Togo, aims to correct the visual distortion that makes equatorial regions appear smaller than they are, which critics argue reinforces a colonial worldview.
Why it matters
This shift represents a symbolic and political effort to address historical biases in global representation and challenge Eurocentric perspectives in international institutions.
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Share A A A New York: The United Nations has voted to shift away from the 16th-century Mercator global map towards one more accurately reflecting countries’ true size, a resolution sponsored by African states to counter perceptions that the continent is peripheral.
Togo led the initiative to further the African Union campaign to limit use of the Mercator map, which distorts the relative size of land masses by expanding those nearer the poles. It makes Greenland appear roughly the same size as Africa, though Africa is about 14 times larger.
Some critics say the Mercator map creates a subtle bias: Northern nations – including some of the wealthiest – appear large, while equatorial regions with mostly developing countries are depicted as small. They argue it reinforces a colonial worldview.
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