UNITED STATES CASTS ONLY VOTE IN UN AGAINST

A WORLD MAP SHOWING TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA

On September 4, 2026, the United States stood alone against an African-led effort to correct the distorted way Africa has been represented on world maps for centuries. Togo, a West African nation, introduced the resolution on behalf of the UN's African Group. It passed overwhelmingly: 164 countries voted in favor, six abstained, and only the United States voted no. At a time when African nations were asking for a basic correction in how their continent is represented to the world, the United States chose to be the only nation to vote against them.

The resolution challenges the widespread use of the Mercator projection, developed in 1569 for navigation. Mercator greatly enlarges regions farther from the Equator while making Africa and other equatorial regions appear smaller. Greenland, for example, can appear comparable in size to Africa even though Africa is approximately 14 times larger.

The resolution encourages governments, schools, international organizations, media, and technology companies to use the Equal Earth projection or other equal-area maps when relative land size is important. It does not ban Mercator and is not legally binding. It simply asks institutions to use maps that portray the relative size of the world's landmasses more accurately.

The American opposition is particularly difficult to justify given how limited the resolution actually is. Rather than support the African-led initiative, the United States attacked it as part of a “radical ideological project.” Whatever Washington's objections to the broader language surrounding the initiative, the result was unmistakable: the United States became the only country to vote against a resolution brought forward by African nations seeking fairer and more accurate representation of their continent.

No map can perfectly reproduce a spherical planet on a flat surface. Still, when more accurate alternatives are available, there is little justification for continuing to present a distorted picture of the world as though it were reality.

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOTE — SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

YES: 164

NO: 1 — United States

ABSTAINED: 6 — Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine

Document: “Correct the map” ( A/80/L.104)

Vote: "Correct the map"

General Assembly Adopts Text to ‘Correct the Map’

UN votes to adopt new world map to reflect Africa's true size (BBC, 9-4-26)

US only country to oppose UN resolution correcting Africa’s size on world maps (The Hill, 9-5-26)