UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly has endorsed a resolution urging the world to move away from the centuries-old Mercator map in favor of projections that more accurately show the true size of continents, particularly Africa, with the United States casting the only vote against it.

The resolution, sponsored by Togo and backed by members of the African Union, passed 164 to 1 with six abstentions. Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine abstained.

The measure encourages governments, international organizations, schools and technology companies to promote maps such as the Equal Earth projection, which preserves the relative size of land masses, and to teach the limitations of flat maps in representing a round planet.

What the resolution does, and doesn't do

The resolution is not legally binding. It does not ban the Mercator projection or require countries to adopt a replacement.

Togo's foreign ministry emphasized that the measure "in no way challenges the use of the Mercator projection for maritime and aerial navigation, for which it remains fully suited."

Instead, it calls for the use of equal-area maps in settings where relative size matters, such as classrooms, public displays and scientific work. It also urges cooperation among U.N. agencies, regional organizations, academic institutions, think tanks and technology firms to strengthen mapping capabilities and support research, especially in developing countries and across Africa.

The resolution itself acknowledges that no flat map can........

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