The United Nations moved Wednesday to promote map projections depicting Africa's true size after the General Assembly adopted a resolution encouraging governments and educators to abandon the Mercator projection. The United States cast the only opposing vote, leaving it diplomatically isolated.

The African Union and the "Correct the Map" campaign championed the resolution, which urges adoption of equal-area projections such as the Equal Earth map. African, Asian and European delegations voted in support.

African Union Commission officials described the vote as correcting a colonial-era distortion. The Mercator projection, dating to 1569, exaggerates landmasses near the poles while diminishing those near the equator, understating Africa's actual area by a significant margin.

Diplomats from South Africa and Kenya said they would raise the resolution at UNESCO and encourage national education ministries to update textbooks and digital platforms. An African Union spokesperson welcomed the outcome but acknowledged that implementation would depend on individual governments and technology firms such as Google.

The US mission to the UN defended its vote, arguing the measure fell outside the body's core mandate. Several European delegations countered that the American stance was needlessly obstructionist on a largely educational question.