Togo Leads UN Vote To Restore Africa Map Justice
Togo has spearheaded a historic diplomatic triumph at the United Nations as the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to abandon the centuries-old Mercator distortion and embrace a cartographic projection that restores Africa to its true monumental scale. The landmark decision marks a symbolic reclamation of continental dignity and geographic truth.
According to Reuters, the resolution titled Correct the Map was sponsored by Togo and backed by the African Union, urging member states to adopt the Equal Earth projection which more accurately portrays continental sizes. The vote passed by 164 to 1 with six abstentions, with only the United States voting against, dismissing the initiative as an ideological agenda and a distraction from genuine global challenges.
According to Al Jazeera, the Mercator map inflated northern regions and compressed equatorial ones, making Europe and North America appear much larger while shrinking Africa and South America. In reality Africa spans about 30.3 million square kilometres, large enough to contain the United States, China, India and most of Europe, yet on Mercator it appears roughly the same size as Greenland which is about 14 times smaller.
Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, who led the initiative, declared that a fair world begins with a fair map, arguing that maps shape understanding, guide education and influence collective perceptions. France, which co-sponsored the resolution, announced it would abandon Mercator, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot noting that the United States, Russia and China take on disproportionate visual prominence while Greenland appears almost as big as Africa.
The resolution is non binding and does not challenge use of Mercator for maritime and aerial navigation, for which it remains suited, but its adoption signals growing institutional appetite for decolonising knowledge systems. From classrooms to tech platforms, the shift promises to recalibrate how generations visualise Africa’s strategic centrality and global significance.
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Author: Korkor Anumu
