What if I told you every map you’ve ever seen is incorrect?
One month ago, on September 4th, 2026, the United Nations gathered at their headquarters in New York City to vote about a resolution regarding the world map.
Until now, the universal map was the Mercator Projection. Gerardus Mercator developed it in 1569 for sailors, because it preserves local shapes and angles remarkably well.
But our map isn’t for sailors.
Since it relies entirely on latitude, the scale compresses everything near the equator, and expands closer to the poles. This makes Africa appear of similar size to Greenland, despite being 14 times larger.
In many ways, the common map is incorrect.
So the country of Togo, backed by the African Union and other African groups, spearheaded the “Correct the Map” resolution at the United Nations. They proposed a new map, developed in 2018, called the Equal Earth Projection.
We call it a “projection” because it is impossible to perfectly flatten a sphere without tearing/stretching it, but this map is intended to counteract the distortions made by Mercator.
Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey stated before the vote: “Maps shape our understanding of the world. They guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions.” In other words, maps don’t just give us geography. They shape how we perceive the world.
His reported motive for the adjustment was to fix the historical size distortions that make Africa appear smaller than it is.
The results were overwhelming: 164 votes in favor, 1 vote against, and 6 abstentions.
The six abstentions were linked to diplomatic sensitivities about the way the projection handles certain boundaries. Most notably, Ukraine abstained because the border on the Crimean Peninsula made it appear separate from Ukraine (and more in Russian boundaries).
And the 1 opposing vote? America—where you’re probably reading this right now—was the only country to vote against the proposition. The United States argued that Togo’s initiative for the resolution was a “radical ideological project” and a distraction from genuine international priorities.
Whether this issue was worthy of the United Nations Organization is up to personal viewpoint, but one thing is for sure: the map as we know it, while not banned, will slowly fade away. The resolution is not mandatory, but it may encourage the government and education to show a more accurate map to future generations.
At this rate, I’ll need a map to find the new map! (I’m sorry. That was a bad dad joke.)