The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution formally abandoning the traditional Mercator projection in favor of one that more accurately represents the size of Africa.

The resolution was initiated by Togo and supported by several countries, including the other 54 member states of the African Union.

The projection was introduced by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569 to help sailors orient themselves at sea. Nearly five centuries later, it remains the global standard. Due to its projection style, however, regions near the equator appear significantly smaller than they actually are, while high-latitude areas appear much larger. This is why the map shows Africa as similar in size to Greenland, yet the continent is 14 times larger than the land mass of Denmark.

"This discussion is not political, but scientific, because there is scientific evidence and we must all accept reality," he declared. Robert Dussey, Foreign Minister of Togo UN resolutions are not binding , but the vote could lead to an update of school curricula and everyday technologies , given the widespread use of the Mercator projection in education, technology, and public administration.

(Unioneonline)

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