The United Nations is set to vote Friday on a resolution promoting a new world map designed to show countries and continents closer to their true relative sizes.
The Equal Earth projection, created in 2018 by an international team of cartographers, has been proposed as an alternative to the centuries-old Mercator projection. Because the Earth is spherical and maps are flat, any attempt to represent the planet on a two-dimensional surface creates some distortion.
Supporters of Equal Earth argue that the Mercator projection significantly exaggerates land areas near the poles while making tropical and equatorial regions appear smaller. Critics say this distortion has influenced how people perceive the relative importance and scale of different parts of the world.
If approved, the U.N. resolution would not require countries or organizations to use the Equal Earth map. Instead, it is intended to raise awareness about map distortion and how visual representations can shape perceptions of geography.
The Mercator projection was developed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569 primarily to help sailors navigate. While useful for navigation, it greatly distorts the size of land masses.
Greenland, for example, can appear nearly as large as Africa on a Mercator map even though Africa is roughly 14 times larger. Alaska can also appear larger than Mexico despite actually being smaller.
African countries have been among the strongest supporters of the Equal Earth projection, arguing that the traditional map understates the continent's true size. Togo introduced the resolution at the United Nations.
Togo's foreign minister, Robert Dussey, said maps are not neutral because they influence how people understand countries and continents, including from an early age. He argued that inaccurate visual representations can reinforce perceptions that do not reflect geographic reality.
Togo also plans to host an event in its capital, Lomé, early next year with UNESCO, the African Union and technology companies including Google Maps to discuss how the resolution could be implemented.
Dussey said the effort is part of a broader push to change how Africa is represented globally and to encourage African countries to take a more active role in shaping that narrative.