African Union welcomes UN decision to correct 'map of Africa'

- Called for a fairer and more accurate cartographic representation that reflects the true dimensions of the continent

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, welcomed on Saturday the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of a resolution correcting the map of Africa, which was submitted by Togo on behalf of the African Group, in favor of “a fairer and more accurate cartographic representation of Africa and other regions of the world.”

In a statement, the Commission Chairperson congratulated “the member states of the African Union and the African Group in New York on their unity and mobilization around this initiative.”

He encouraged international institutions, educational systems, publishers, and digital actors to “gradually work toward using more accurate cartographic representations that align with actual land areas.”

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He emphasized that the Commission would continue its cooperation with Togo, member states, and relevant partners to support efforts to implement this initiative.

He stressed that “the continent must be represented as it is, with its true dimensions and in the status it deserves in the world,” affirming that “this initiative should highlight the importance of representing Africa based on objective facts and scientifically verified evidence.”

The adoption of this resolution represents significant progress, as the Mercator projection was designed in the 16th century to meet navigation needs, but, according to the African initiative, it does not accurately reflect the relative sizes of different regions of the world and provides a visual representation that is much smaller than the continent’s actual size.