The United Nations has voted to adopt a new world map that reflects Africa’s true size, according to bbc.com. The decision came during the UN General Assembly’s 80th session, with the resolution framed as an effort to “correct the map.”
The vote follows a push by African nations to address long-standing distortions in how the continent is depicted on standard world maps, bbc.com reports. The UN News service described the move as an instruction to stop making Africa look small, while The Guardian noted the adoption highlights Africa’s true scale.
For decades, cartographers have used map projections that shrink landmasses near the equator, making Africa appear far smaller than it is relative to Europe and North America. The new map aims to fix that misrepresentation, according to the United States Mission to the United Nations, which issued an explanation of its vote before the adoption.
The resolution’s passage marks a symbolic but significant step in recognizing Africa’s geographic dimensions on official UN materials. The Star, a Kenyan outlet, characterized the decision as backing Africa’s push to redraw the world map.
The UN’s adoption does not immediately change maps used in classrooms or by the public, but it sets a standard for official UN publications and could influence future cartographic practices. The specific projection or design of the new map has not been detailed in the reports.
What to watch next is how the UN implements the map across its agencies and whether other international bodies follow suit.
