UN Backs Equal Earth Maps to Show Africa’s True Scale; US Votes Against

The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution urging countries and institutions to move away from the Mercator world map, which makes regions near the poles appear much larger than they are and makes Africa look relatively smaller. The resolution, proposed by Togo with African Union backing, passed with 164 votes in favour, six abstentions and one vote against from the United States. It promotes map projections such as Equal Earth, which portray the relative size of continents more accurately. Togo said the issue concerns accurate geographical knowledge, historic memory and the dignity of peoples. The US dismissed the resolution as ideological, while Ukraine abstained over how the Equal Earth projection depicts territories occupied by Russia.

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