The UN General Assembly will vote on Friday a resolution for the world to gradually abandon the traditional Mercator map in favor of a more accurate representation of Africa's actual size. The resolution was sponsored by Togo and has the support of the other 54 member states of the African Union. French diplomacy also announced on Friday that it will support the measure.
Togo's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Dussey, stated that the discussion is not political, but scientific, as there is scientific evidence that demonstrates the distortion of the current map. According to him, everyone must accept this reality.
The current cartographic representation was created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, originally developed to help sailors in their navigation of the seas. The Mercator map presents a Eurocentric perspective that distorts the dimensions of continents, especially underestimating Africa's size in relation to Europe and North America.
