The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution to correct world maps, with Zambia among the 164 supporting nations.
The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly adopted the “Correct the Map” resolution, with Zambia casting a yes vote. This Togo-led initiative, supported by all 54 African Union member states, aims to rectify a long-standing cartographic distortion that underrepresents Africa's actual size on global maps. Zambia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Chola Milambo, described the adoption as a historic achievement for Africa and other marginalized regions.
The resolution acknowledges that the widely used Mercator projection distorts the representation of areas, particularly landmasses distant from the equator. This projection leads to Africa appearing only about as large as Greenland, when in reality it is fourteen times larger. The UN body encourages governments, educational institutions, and international organizations to adopt the 2018 Equal Earth projection, an equal-area map that accurately depicts continental sizes without distortion.
Although the resolution is non-binding, it is anticipated to influence the content of textbooks, atlases, and digital mapping platforms worldwide. The adoption signifies a move towards more accurate global representation, addressing historical cartographic inaccuracies. The press statement was issued by Namatama Njekwa, First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Zambia to the United Nations.
Why it mattersThe resolution affects farmers by promoting accurate geographical representation, which could influence land and resource discussions.
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