UN General Assembly endorses a new world map that shows more accurately Africa’s size

For context, the United Nations General Assembly on Friday endorsed a new world map that represents Africa more accurately in its larger size, a culmination of a recent campaign led by African countries and advocacy groups.

What happened

Friday's resolution, which was by Togo and backed by members of the African Union, was passed with 164 member states voting in favor. Only the U.S. Voted against it while six other countries – Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine – abstained.

Notably, the vote encourages governments and institutions worldwide to replace the traditional Mercator map, commonly applied since the 16th Century, with the Equal Earth projection that advocates and geographers say indicates locations more accurately.

In practice, the Mercator projection demonstrates Greenland and Africa as appearing to be concerning the same size whereas in the Equal Earth projection that demonstrates continents in their true proportions, Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland.

The bottom line

In short, UN General Assembly endorses a new world map that shows more accurately is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.