The world map you grew up seeing in classrooms may be about to get a reality check.
The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly backed a resolution calling for greater use of maps that represent the actual relative size of continents, challenging the centuries-old dominance of the Mercator projection.
The non-binding “Correct the Map” resolution, sponsored by Togo and backed by African Union members, passed 164-1, with six countries abstaining. The United States was the only country to vote against it.
India voted in favour but made it clear that its support was for the principle of more accurate, equal-area mapping, rather than for any particular map design.
Speaking at the General Assembly, Indian diplomat Raghoo Puri said maps significantly influence how societies understand geography and the relative scale of the world.
India supported the resolution because equal-area projections preserve the relative size of landmasses, helping reduce distortions in how continents are perceived.
But New Delhi stressed that the resolution should remain “technologically and methodologically neutral.”
In other words: India isn't saying this is the one map everyone must use. Different maps serve different purposes, and the Mercator projection remains useful for navigation.
India's position was specifically limited to encouraging equal-area approaches when the objective is to accurately compare the size of continents and territories.
The Mercator projection was created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569 and became hugely influential because it preserves angles and compass bearings—making it extremely useful for maritime navigation.
The problem? Size.
Because the spherical Earth has to be flattened onto a two-dimensional surface, regions closer to the poles become dramatically enlarged.
That means:
Greenland can appear almost as large as Africa
Europe looks significantly larger relative to equatorial regions
North America gets visually inflated
Africa and South America appear smaller than they actually are
In reality, Africa is roughly 14 times the size of Greenland.
The Mercator map isn't technically “wrong”—it was designed for a specific purpose. But using it to compare the actual size of continents can create a seriously misleading visual impression.
The Equal Earth projection, developed by a group of cartographers in 2018, was designed to preserve the relative surface areas of continents while keeping their shapes reasonably close to how they appear on a globe.
On Equal Earth, Africa, South America, South Asia and Oceania appear considerably larger than they do on Mercator.
Cartographer Bojan Šavrič, one of the projection's creators, has described its purpose as preserving continental surface areas while maintaining recognisable shapes.
The UN resolution encourages countries, schools, media organisations, governments and technology companies to consider equal-area projections where accurate comparisons of landmass size are important.
It does not, however, ban the Mercator projection.
Washington was the lone country to vote against the resolution.
US representative Yaryna Ferencevych criticised the move ahead of the vote, arguing that the UN should focus on more pressing global issues rather than what she described as a debate over a 16th-century map and its alleged connection to ideas such as reparations and “cognitive justice.”
The US opposition turned what might otherwise have been a technical cartography debate into a wider argument over whether changing maps is an important correction or an ideological distraction.
France, which co-sponsored the resolution, announced that it would move away from the Mercator projection in its official materials.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot argued that the familiar projection gives countries such as the United States, Russia and China disproportionate visual prominence compared with Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
His point was simple: changing a map doesn't change the world—but changing a distorted representation can change how people see it.
The African Union has also adopted Equal Earth for its mapping efforts.
Not exactly.
The UN vote doesn't outlaw Mercator, nor does it declare Equal Earth the only acceptable world map.
Instead, it pushes a broader principle: when the goal is to compare the actual size of countries and continents, use a projection that doesn't distort their relative areas.
Because there is no single perfect map projection.
A map designed for sailors doesn't necessarily need to be the same map used in a geography textbook.
And yes—that giant Greenland you've been staring at since school was never actually that big.