The U.N. voted to promote map projections that more accurately represent the world, drawing official opposition from the U.S.

The most widely used global map is almost 500 years old and was designed for navigation. But landmasses near the poles look ...

The UN has endorsed a new world map using the Equal Earth projection. See how the map compares and why Africa gains the most relative size.

The Togo-sponsored resolution was backed by 164 nations - the US the only nation to vote against it.

The Equal Earth projection shows countries’ true size relative to one another, unlike the centuries-old Mercator map, which critics say makes Africa look smaller than it is.

It is the culmination of a recent campaign led by African countries and advocacy groups to reject 'cartographic colonialism'.

The U.S. was the only nation to oppose a new world map that more accurately reflects the size of Africa and other regions.

The UN resolution instead endorses use of the Equal Earth projection, which better shows the relative sizes of land masses.

However, the Mercator map comes with the trade-off of showing inaccurate sizes for continents. Landmasses become artificially ...

The UN has passed a non-binding resolution to endorse the Equal Earth Projection, a map which more fairly represents the true ...

The widely-used Mercator map is often criticised for visually exaggerating and centralising Western nations.