The resolution, sponsored by Togo and supported by members of the African Union, was approved by 164 countries, including France and the United Kingdom.
The United States was the only country to vote against the measure, while Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine abstained.
Although the resolution is non-binding, it encourages governments, schools, international organisations and technology companies to move away from map projections that significantly distort the relative size of countries and continents.
The campaign has particularly focused on the Mercator projection, which has been widely used since the 16th century.
Designed in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator primarily for navigation, the projection preserves angles and directions but significantly enlarges land masses located closer to the poles, making regions around the equator appear relatively smaller.
As a result, Greenland can appear similar in size to Africa on a Mercator map, despite Africa having roughly 14 times more land area.
Supporters of the initiative argue that such distortions have influenced global perceptions of Africa’s geographical importance, population, natural resources and economic potential.
In 2018, cartographers developed the Equal Earth projection, an equal-area world map designed to represent the relative sizes of continents and countries more accurately.
The African Union’s 54 member states adopted the projection in February, saying it more accurately represented the sizes of the world’s continents, particularly Africa.
The #CorrectTheMap campaign has also highlighted Africa’s vast landmass, arguing that countries including the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico and large parts of Europe could fit within Africa while leaving additional land available.
Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, whose country sponsored the resolution, said the campaign was aimed at addressing perceptions created by distorted maps.
“A fair world begins with a fair map,” Dussey said.
Speaking at a UN briefing before the vote, he said maps were not neutral because they influence how people and continents are perceived.
“A map is never neutral. It shapes perceptions, influences how the place of peoples and continents in the world is understood,” he said.
The resolution describes efforts to correct cartographic distortions as an act of “cognitive justice and memorial reparation” and identifies Equal Earth as an example of a projection that better preserves relative land area.
It does not seek to ban the Mercator projection but encourages greater use of Equal Earth and other equal-area projections, while promoting education about the limitations involved in representing a spherical planet on a flat surface.
France backed the initiative, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot saying his ministry planned to stop using the Mercator projection for its world maps.
“Changing the map obviously doesn’t change the world. But correcting a representation that distorts it is already an act of truth,” Barrot said.
The United States opposed the resolution, arguing that the General Assembly should focus on more pressing international issues.
US representative Yaryna Ferencevych said the measure “mocked the work and purpose” of the General Assembly, questioning why the body was debating map projections from the 16th century instead of focusing on international peace, prosperity and good relations.
Washington also criticised what it described as the ideological framing of the initiative, particularly its references to “reparations” and “cognitive justice”.
Ukraine, while supporting efforts to address historical cartographic distortions affecting Africa and other parts of the Global South, raised concerns over the depiction of Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia on some Equal Earth maps.
Campaign supporters, however, insist that the issue goes beyond geography and cartography.
Lerato Mogoatlhe of Africa No Filter, one of the groups behind the campaign, said Africa’s portrayal on world maps was also a “narrative issue”, while Kenyan geographer Kioko Muendo argued that maps can influence how regions are perceived politically and economically.
Supporters of the resolution say wider use of equal-area projections would provide a more accurate visual representation of Africa and other regions near the equator, while helping people understand that every two-dimensional world map involves some degree of distortion.
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