The United Nations General Assembly has backed a resolution encouraging governments and institutions to use world maps that represent the relative size of continents more accurately, including the Equal Earth projection.

The resolution, sponsored by Togo with support from the African Union, was adopted on Friday by 164 votes to one, with six countries abstaining: Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine. The United States was the only country to vote against it.

The measure does not ban the widely used Mercator projection or legally require countries to replace it. Instead, it encourages the use of Equal Earth and other area-accurate projections in settings where the relative size of land masses matters. Reuters reported that the resolution is not legally binding.

“A fair world begins with a fair map,” Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey told Reuters before the vote. The United Nations also quoted him as saying: “Maps shape our understanding of the world. They guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions.”

The Mercator projection was developed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569 primarily to assist maritime navigation. It preserves angles and directions useful for navigation, but substantially exaggerates the apparent size of land masses as they become farther from the Equator.

One of the most familiar examples is Greenland. On a Mercator map, Greenland can appear roughly comparable in size to Africa, although Africa is about 14 times larger in area. Equal Earth, an equal-area projection developed in 2018, represents that difference much more closely.

The campaign has been led by Togo as part of a wider African effort to promote what its proponents describe as a more proportionate representation of the continent. The African Union adopted a decision supporting Equal Earth at its February 2026 summit, according to Togo's foreign ministry.

Togo plans to begin changing its school geography materials by the end of 2026, Dussey told Reuters. He said the country would also encourage other governments, schools, international organisations and technology companies to consider moving away from Mercator where area accuracy is important.

The resolution has drawn opposition from Washington. The United States said the measure promoted an “ideological agenda” and distracted from what it described as the genuine problems of international peace, prosperity and good relations.

The resolution leaves Mercator's established use in navigation untouched. Togo's foreign ministry said the decision “in no way challenges” the projection's continued use for maritime and aerial navigation, where its particular properties remain useful.

The Equal Earth projection itself does not eliminate all distortions inherent in turning a three-dimensional globe into a flat map, but it preserves relative land areas, making it more suitable when the primary purpose is to compare the size of continents and countries.