India backs UN map reform resolution, clarifies no support for one projection

India supported a UN resolution seeking fairer world map representation. It also stressed the move should not endorse any single projection system.

In Short

• The UN General Assembly adopted the measure with 164 votes in favour
• The text argues common world maps exaggerate northern and southern landmasses
• It says Africa, Latin America and South Asia appear smaller than reality

India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution aimed at correcting the world map to promote a more accurate representation of continental landmasses. The 193-member Assembly adopted the resolution on Friday with 164 votes in favour, six abstentions and the United States voting against it.

The resolution, titled "Correct the map": rebalancing global cartographic representation and promoting equitable representation of the world's regions, particularly Africa, says commonly used world maps continue to distort the size of landmasses far to the North and South of the equator. It raises concern that this has contributed to minimising the perceived sizes of Africa, Latin America and South Asia and has perpetuated an unbalanced view of the world.

The resolution was sponsored by Togo. The countries that abstained were Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine.

It noted that the Mercator projection, designed in the 16th century for navigational purposes, remains widely used in educational, media, digital and official materials despite what it described as considerable distortion of landmasses away from the equator.

Explaining India’s vote in the General Assembly, Raghoo Puri, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, said India "welcomes" the intention behind the resolution to promote more accurate and representative cartographic practices. "We believe that maps play an important role in how societies understand geography and the relative scale of the world around us," he said.

India, however, clarified how it understood the scope of the resolution. "We believe that the resolution should be understood as supporting the broader use and consideration of Equal Area map projections, and not as endorsing the Equal Earth projection or any other specific map projection," Puri said. India thus backed the move for fairer cartographic representation while making clear that it did not see the resolution as support for any one specific map projection.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends