How big is Africa really? Why the UN voted to change the world map
Summary
The United Nations General Assembly voted to support a new world map called the Equal Earth projection, which shows Africa and other continents closer to their true sizes. The vote had strong global support, with 164 countries in favor, but the United States voted against it, and six countries abstained.Key Facts
- The UN resolution promotes using the Equal Earth map to better represent continent sizes.
- The traditional Mercator map makes northern countries appear larger and equatorial places like Africa smaller than they really are.
- Africa is about 30.3 million square kilometers, much larger than shown on the Mercator map, where it looks similar in size to Greenland.
- Latin America covers about 20 million square kilometers, Oceania about 8.5 million, and South Asia about 5.1 million.
- France and other countries support the new map and plan to stop using the Mercator projection.
- The U.S. opposed the resolution, saying the UN should focus on more important issues.
- The Equal Earth projection was created in 2018 to show continents more accurately on a flat map.
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