UN Votes To Encourage Map Projections More Accurately Reflecting the True Size of Continents (un.org)
- Reference: 0185454506
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/09/06/0017242/un-votes-to-encourage-map-projections-more-accurately-reflecting-the-true-size-of-continents
- Source link: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/09/1168284
> By 164 votes to one, Member States on Friday endorsed a resolution promoting map projections that more accurately reflect the true size of continents — the culmination of an African-led campaign against the 16th-century Mercator projection, still the most widely used map in the world. The United States cast the sole vote against, dismissing the initiative as part of a "radical ideological project." Six countries — Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine — abstained.
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> The resolution does not ban the Mercator projection or impose a replacement. Instead, it encourages governments, schools, international organizations and technology companies to use [2]the Equal Earth projection and other so-called equal-area maps when relative size matters, and to teach the limitations of any flat map in representing a spherical planet.
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> Behind that seemingly technical debate lies a larger argument about history and power: whether a map designed for European sailors in the 16th century has, over generations, distorted not only geography but perceptions of a whole, vast and complex continent... [With Mercator maps] landmasses appear increasingly enlarged the farther they are from the Equator. Greenland, for instance, can look roughly comparable in size to Africa, even though Africa is about 14 times larger. Northern Europe and North America are similarly magnified, relative to equatorial regions. Despite its original navigational purpose, Mercator remains common in educational, media, digital and official materials. The resolution says those distortions have contributed to the "symbolic minimization" of Africa and perpetuated an unbalanced view of the world...
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> Equal-area maps do not make Africa larger; they remove the exaggeration Mercator gives landmasses closer to the poles.
The UN notes that hours before the vote, France's foreign minister announced the country was planning to abandon Mercator for its maps of the world.
[1] https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/09/1168284
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Earth_projection
The West Wing already fixed this (Score:2)
I am now having flashbacks to The West Wingâ(TM)s Bug Block of Cheese Day. Lunatic mapmakers (Organization of Cartographers for Social Equality) and the Mercator Projection vs the Peterson Projection. Wait until all of you realize that north doesnâ(TM)t have to be up.
I hate it here (Score:2, Interesting)
I am both disappointed and proud to be the first person on slashdot to take this seriously. Accurate maps are important because the whole point of sticking with the old shitty projections is literally minimizing Africa. Why does this website have so many racists on it?
Re: (Score:2)
If of course impossible to make an accurate flat map of the earth. Any may will distort something - shapes or angles, or it needs huge cuts. Fortunately today almost everyone uses electronics maps that let you rotate and zoom a globe, so it really doesn't matter anymore
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except you can't put that in a textbook
I feel great disturbance in the force (Score:2)
As if millions of grandpas in America cried out "I'm not racist but..."
Watch out, Africa... (Score:2)
> Greenland, for instance, can look roughly comparable in size to Africa, even though Africa is about 14 times larger.
... once the new maps come out, POTUS may suddenly want to annex YOU.
Projection? (Score:2)
Who uses flat maps these days?
Re: Projection? (Score:2)
Google Maps uses Mercator in most views.
globe (Score:1)
Whatever projection is useful for whatever your current task might be. Anyrate .. gawdsakes, you mean every classroom in the world does not have a physical "spinning" 3-dim globe --- bigger than a basketball ? In USA I would have thought 5/6-th grade geography lessons would need such a tool. Not to mention intro to geometry tasks and a bit a (sneaky) trig. Now if that (necessary ) globe also came apart in "wedges", a clever teacher could astound her class with some earth science. Did we ge
How about ... (Score:2)
... [1]this [worldmapper.org] map? GDP per person would be better. But then Africa would disappear.
[1] https://worldmapper.org/maps/gdp-2018/
Cool (Score:1)
Nice to see some progress on this.
A giant step forward for mankind (Score:2, Flamebait)
OK that's sarcastic, but is this really the top agenda item at the UN?
Mankind...we're fuced. But hey, Africa will feel bette!r
Re: A giant step forward for mankind (Score:2)
Maybe they are trying to develop more ecotourism in the African nations.. only my guess
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More work for Africans would alleviate the problem of them piling up at the European border.
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How is map accuracy suddenly political?
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[1]Peirce Quincuncial [xkcd.com] is the only true map projection. Anything else fits into pre-existing paradigms and stereotypes.
[1] https://xkcd.com/977/
Re: (Score:2)
The problem with world maps is that they are all derivative. They are just derivative, poorly rendered copies of the earth.
Re: (Score:2)
> They are just derivative, poorly rendered copies of the earth.
That's why I keep the real thing in my backyard for safe keeping. If you need to reference it, just try not to wrinkle it up too much if you fold it.
Re: (Score:3)
It is possible to work on two problems at once.
Re: A giant step forward for mankind (Score:2)
> Like Iran & Russia?
The U.S. is an active participant in one of those and Congress still manages to name a few post offices.
Re: (Score:2)
Not for Americans it isn't. Famously you can always count on us to do the right thing after we've tried everything else.
Re:A giant step forward for mankind (Score:4, Informative)
You misunderstand how it works. The UN is a platform for diplomacy. A country or a group of countries call a topic for discussion to the General Assembly. It is then discussed until possibly a vote on a resolution can be held. The UN provides the infrastructure for the discussions to happen, not a Great Leader that chooses which topics can be discussed or not.
Also, topics do not need to be top agenda. Taking care only of top agenda item is a very fuced up way to handle an agenda, or workload, or business. You have to be able to handle multiple things at a time.
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And also something to remember is that the UN has to be a bit powerless by design otherwise nobody would be a part of it, much less the largest nations. It's frustrating but the alternative is a really nothing in it's place.
It's just like "laws" around warfare like the Geneva Convention. If the rules are too restrictive on either side of the war then those rules just won't get followed.
Re: (Score:2)
I have it on good authority from random uncles on Facebook that the UN is a cabal of freedom stealing blood drinkers that want us to eat tofu and bugs and drive Priuses.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It does not appear to be a top agenda item. It didn't even make this page:
[1]https://unfoundation.org/unga8... [unfoundation.org]
It is getting some attention because the US elected a president who wants to invade Greenland because it looks so large on a map he was shown.
"I love maps. And I always said, 'Look at the size of this. It's massive.' That should be part of the United States."
[2]https://foreignpolicy.com/2025... [foreignpolicy.com]
[1] https://unfoundation.org/unga81/
[2] https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/02/14/trump-greenland-obsession-map-threats/
Re: (Score:2)
Great, now he wants to invade Africa.
I'm all for correcting the maps, but the problem was never the map ...
Re: (Score:2)
Trump doesn't want much of anything he's senile. The invasion of Greenland is part of project 2025 and a broader attempt for the fascists who are pushing it to expand America's borders.
It's the same thing fascists always do. They're incompetent so they collapse the economy and then they need to loot their countries in order to fill back the coffers at home. The Democrats in America don't somehow win the next two elections by pretty sizeable margins and in a few years we'll be invading Canada and Mexico
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the purpose of the democratic party is to absorb criticism, they're a propaganda wing of the fascist uniparty
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Every UN document related to this topic should link to [1]this definitive specification [xkcd.com]. People need to know what they are voting for, and it's a quick way to understand the issue.
[1] https://xkcd.com/977/