{"id":37152,"date":"2026-09-05T09:58:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T08:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/?p=37152"},"modified":"2026-09-05T09:59:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T08:59:05","slug":"un-backs-new-world-map-that-shows-africas-true-size","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/05\/un-backs-new-world-map-that-shows-africas-true-size\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Backs New World Map That Shows Africa\u2019s True Size"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UNITED NATIONS \u2014 The United Nations General Assembly has endorsed a new world map that more accurately represents the size of Africa, backing an African-led campaign to challenge distortions that have shaped how the world has viewed continents for centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resolution, sponsored by Togo and supported by African Union members, passed Friday with 164 countries voting in favor. The United States was the only country to vote against it, while six countries abstained. The measure promotes the use of the Equal Earth projection, which more accurately represents the relative sizes of continents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue centers on the Mercator projection, developed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. The map was designed primarily for maritime navigation and became one of the world’s most widely recognized map projections. However, its method of projecting the spherical Earth onto a flat surface significantly enlarges areas closer to the poles while making equatorial regions appear comparatively smaller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most striking examples is Greenland and Africa. On many Mercator maps, the two appear roughly similar in size, even though Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland. The distortion also affects perceptions of Europe, North America, Latin America and other regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UN Backs New World Map That Shows Africa\u2019s True Size<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The debate over map projections is not new. Alternative maps, including the Gall-Peters projection introduced in the 1970s, were developed partly to provide a more accurate representation of land area. The Equal Earth projection, created in 2018, is another equal-area alternative designed to preserve the relative size of continents while maintaining a visually balanced world map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

African governments and advocacy groups have argued that the issue goes beyond geography. They say repeatedly seeing Africa depicted as smaller than its actual size can influence educational materials, cultural perceptions and understanding of the continent’s global importance. The campaign, known as “Correct the Map,” seeks to encourage more accurate representations in schools, textbooks, media and digital platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resolution is not legally binding and does not prohibit the Mercator projection. The United Nations recognizes that Mercator remains useful for specific purposes, particularly navigation. Instead, the resolution encourages governments, international organizations and other institutions to consider more accurate equal-area maps for education and public communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Africa, the vote represents more than a cartographic adjustment. It is part of a broader effort to challenge historical narratives and ensure that the continent is represented more accurately in global institutions, education and popular culture. While changing a map will not alter Africa’s geography, supporters say it can help change the way the world understands its size, diversity and place in global affairs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UNITED NATIONS \u2014 The United Nations General Assembly has endorsed a new world map that more accurately represents the size of Africa, backing an African-led campaign to challenge distortions that have shaped how the world has viewed continents for centuries. The resolution, sponsored by Togo and supported by African Union members, passed Friday with 164 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":37155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3699,4,5],"tags":[268,2608,13575,23676,23672,23674,23675,22418,23669,23673,23670,13576,23671],"class_list":["post-37152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-featured","category-international","tag-africa","tag-africanews","tag-africanunion","tag-cartography","tag-correctthemap","tag-geography","tag-globalsouth","tag-internationalnews","tag-mercatorprojection","tag-togo","tag-un","tag-unitednations","tag-worldmap-equalearth"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/UN-Backs-New-World-Map-That-Shows-Africas-True-Size-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37152"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37158,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37152\/revisions\/37158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}