UN General Assembly Adopts African-Led Resolution Backing Equal Earth Map Projection

4 September 2026National

The UN General Assembly on 4 September 2026 adopted an African-led resolution promoting maps that show continents in accurate relative sizes, endorsing the Equal Earth projection and moving away from the 16th-century Mercator projection in education and public mapping. Led by Togo and backed by the African Union, it passed with 164 votes in favour, 6 abstentions and 1 against — the sole opposing vote cast by the United States. Togo framed the issue as one of "cognitive justice", since Mercator maps make Greenland appear far larger than its true area relative to Africa. Togo plans to revise school textbooks by end-2026.

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The UN General Assembly is the UN's main deliberative organ with all 193 member states, each having one vote | The African Union was founded in 2002 (succeeding the OAU of 1963) and is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Togo's capital is Lomé and its currency is the West African CFA franc

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