Africa Becomes Bigger On New UN-Backed World Map, North America-Europe Get Smaller; US Votes Against Resolution

In a major development, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday voted to adopt a new map that depicts Africa as larger, while reducing the relative size of North America and Europe. However, the resolution drew criticism from the United States.

Washington expressed disapproval over the resolution, accusing the United Nations of overlooking more pressing global issues.

“Instead of focusing on genuine problems… this body is debating map projects from the 16th century and their role in promoting reparations and cognitive justice," US representative Yaryna Ferencevych said, AFP reported.

The development comes after the UNGA adopted an African Union-backed resolution titled "Correct the Map", calling for more accurate and equitable cartographic representation of the world's regions, particularly Africa. A total of 164 countries voted in favour of the resolution, while the United States voted against it and six countries abstained.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the UN congratulated Togo and the African Group, describing the resolution as an important step towards ensuring that global maps better reflect Africa's actual geographical scale.

It urged member states to use the newly proposed map instead of the traditional Mercator projection, which was designed for maritime navigation by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569.

The African Union Mission to the UN welcomed the resolution as a “significant step towards ensuring that the map of the world reflects Africa’s true scale and place in the world."

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the African Union Mission to the UN wrote, "Congratulations to the delegation of Togo on the adoption this morning by the #UNGA of resolution A/80/L.104, 'Correct the Map', an @_AfricanUnion initiative promoting more accurate and equitable global cartographic representation, particularly of Africa."

🎉Congratulations to the delegation of Togo 🇹🇬 on the adoption this morning by the #UNGA of resolution A/80/L.104, “Correct the Map”, an @_AfricanUnion initiative promoting more accurate and equitable global cartographic representation, particularly of #Africa.

A significant… pic.twitter.com/oxZCbeMUTt

— African Union Mission to the UN (@AfricanUnionUN) September 4, 2026

"The adoption of this resolution marks an important step forward," the AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said.

The AU said the resolution promotes the use of equal-area maps, including the Equal Earth projection, in classrooms, media and international institutions so that maps better convey the relative size of countries and continents.

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Foreign Minister Robert Dussey of Togo, which sponsored the resolution, said maps “guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions", adding they are “forever neutral", according to AFP.

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“When they present a distorted image of our planet, they risk perpetuating inaccurate representation that is passed down through generations."