The United Nations General Assembly voted to change the world map. For a long time, people used the Mercator projection. This map was made in 1569 by Gerardus Mercator. It was helpful for sailors, but it is not very accurate today. It makes some parts of the world look much larger than they really are. For example, on this map, Africa and Greenland look similar in size. But in reality, Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland. The new map is called the 2018 Equal Earth projection. It shows the true size of continents more accurately.
At the UN headquarters in New York, 164 member states voted for this change. The United States voted against it. Togo led this movement for the African Union. This change follows a campaign called #CorrectTheMap. More than 11,000 people signed a petition on Change.org. The African Union supported the campaign in August 2025. This change helps students and leaders see the world more clearly.
The UN resolution is not a strict law. This means countries do not have to use the new map if they do not want to. However, some countries are already changing. France said it will use the Eckert IV projection, which is similar to the new design. Togo is planning a meeting in Lomรฉ in the first quarter of next year. They will talk with UNESCO, the African Union, and companies like Google Maps. This is important because many people use digital maps every day.