The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly backed an African-led effort to change how the world is represented on maps, calling on governments, schools, international organizations and technology companies to use projections that more accurately show the relative sizes of continents.
The resolution passed on Friday by 164 votes to one, with the United States alone opposing and six countries abstaining. It promotes the Equal Earth projection and other equal-area maps as alternatives to the centuries-old Mercator projection, which which exaggerates the size of landmasses farther from the equator.
