The world map is finally admitting how big Africa is.
Africa was not small. The map was weird.
THE MAP WAS THE PROBLEM.
The UN General Assembly has endorsed wider use of equal-area map projections when relative size matters, putting new institutional weight behind the Equal Earth map and its less distorted view of continents such as Africa.
WHAT HAPPENED
The September 4 resolution, sponsored by Togo with African Union backing, passed 164 votes to one with six abstentions. It encourages governments, schools, media, international organizations and technology companies to use projections that preserve relative area when that is relevant. Equal Earth, introduced in 2018, shows landmass sizes more faithfully than the 16th-century Mercator projection. The resolution is non-binding, changes no borders and does not prohibit Mercator, which remains useful for navigation.
WHY THIS IS HOPESLOP
Sometimes progress is simply agreeing to draw the planet less incorrectly. A map does not change Africa's size; it changes whether the rest of us are taught to see that size honestly.
ORIGINAL SOURCEAssociated PressRead the original report
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