3 weeks ago
UN Map Resolution Challenges Mercator’s Colonial-Era Distortions
Maps can show the world in different ways.
The familiar Mercator map is useful for ships, but it makes places near the North and South Poles look much bigger.
Africa, for example, is actually about 14 times larger than Greenland, even though they can look similar on Mercator maps.
African countries and other Global South nations want maps that show land sizes more fairly.
The United Nations General Assembly supported this effort in a resolution led by Togo and the African Union.
India voted for it but said that this did not mean agreeing with any particular map or border depiction.
The United States voted against the resolution and called it ideological.
Supporters say maps influence how people understand identity, history and power.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the African-led Correct the Map resolution by 164 votes to one, with six abstentions.
The resolution calls for maps that represent the relative sizes of regions more fairly, especially Africa, but does not mandate one map or settle national boundaries.
The Mercator projection, created in 1569 for navigation, makes areas near the poles appear much larger than they are.
Supporters promote equal-area projections such as Equal Earth, which was developed in 2018 by Bojan Šavrič, Tom Patterson and Bernhard Jenny.
India supported the resolution while clarifying that its vote did not endorse a map depicting disputed parts of Jammu and Kashmir as belonging to Pakistan or China.
- Who
- The United Nations General Assembly, led by Togo and the African Union, considered the resolution; India supported it and the United States opposed it.
- What
- The assembly adopted the Correct the Map resolution, which encourages fairer equal-area representations of the world and challenges the routine use of Mercator maps.
- Where
- The decision was made in the United Nations General Assembly; its implications concern maps used worldwide.
- When
- The resolution was adopted on September 4, according to the article.
- Why
- Supporters want to reduce the geographic and political distortions associated with Mercator maps, particularly the apparent minimisation of Africa and other southern regions.
Supporters of Correct the Map
United States Opposition
Purpose of the resolution
Supporters of Correct the Map
Supporters say the initiative corrects longstanding area distortions and challenges Eurocentric visual conventions that make Africa and other southern regions appear smaller.
United States Opposition
The United States described the initiative as a radical ideological project and questioned whether correcting continental representations should be a United Nations priority.
Choice of projection
Supporters of Correct the Map
Advocates support equal-area projections such as Equal Earth because they preserve the relative sizes of landmasses; the resolution itself does not require one specific map.
United States Opposition
The United States opposed the initiative, while the article does not identify a preferred alternative projection from the US government.
Political meaning of maps
Supporters of Correct the Map
Supporters argue that maps communicate history, identity, sovereignty and power, and that continued use of Mercator as an all-purpose map can reinforce colonial-era hierarchies.
United States Opposition
The United States objected to the resolution as ideological, although the article notes that the Trump administration separately used executive authority to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America for US federal purposes.
Key facts
- Resolution
- Correct the Map
- Vote
- 164 nations supported it, six abstained and the United States voted against it.
- Lead sponsors
- Togo and the African Union
- Mercator projection
- Developed in 1569 for navigation and useful for plotting constant compass bearings.
- Africa’s actual area
- Approximately 30.3 million square kilometres, according to the article.
- Africa and Greenland
- Africa is approximately 14 times larger than Greenland.
- Alternative projection
- Equal Earth preserves relative land areas while accepting some distortion of shape.
- India’s position
- India supported the resolution but said it did not endorse a mandatory map or any particular depiction of national boundaries.
Sources
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