Nigeria has joined 163 other countries to endorse an African led UN resolution seeking more accurate representation of Africa and other regions on world maps.
The UN General Assembly adopted the “Correct the Map” resolution by 164 votes to one, with six countries abstaining. The United States cast the only opposing vote, while Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine abstained.
The resolution, backed by the African Union, promotes the wider use of the Equal Earth projection and other equal area maps that accurately represent the relative sizes of continents and countries.
Togo led negotiations on behalf of the African Group, with Foreign Minister Robert Dussey saying maps influence how people understand the world and shape collective perceptions.
Africa, which covers about 30 million square kilometres, is the world’s second largest continent by land area and population. Advocates say conventional Mercator maps make Africa appear significantly smaller than its actual size.
The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018, presents countries and continents according to their relative land area rather than enlarging regions closer to the poles.
The United States opposed the resolution, arguing that the General Assembly should prioritise more pressing global challenges, while France supported it and announced plans to move away from Mercator in its official world maps.
Leave a comment