Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey announced that his country will ask member states of the United Nations General Assembly to adopt an international map of the world that shows the true size of the African continent.

Togo calls for the adoption of scientific fact in international maps

Togo’s foreign minister also explained, according to Reuters, that his country will ask the United Nations to show Africa on the world map in a larger and more accurate way, in addition to abandoning the 16th-century Mercator projection.

He added that the size we see of the African continent on the globe is geographically inaccurate, calling for the adoption of scientific truth by showing the natural size of the continent.

The African Union had tasked Togo with promoting the Correct the Map campaign to end the use of the Mercator map by governments and international organizations, and to adopt the 2018 Equal Earth projection, which aims to show the true sizes of countries.

Earlier this year, the African Union adopted a draft resolution urging the adoption of the Equal Earth projection and encouraging its 55 member states to abandon the Mercator projection.

Critics say that the Mercator projection, which makes Greenland appear the size of Africa when the continent is actually about 14 times larger, reinforces prevailing perceptions of Africa's marginality despite its vast size and large population, influencing prevailing narratives in the media, education, and politics.

The Mercator projection, designed by cartographer Gerardus Mercator for navigational purposes, does not show the true size of the continents, as it inflates areas near the poles such as North America and Greenland while shrinking the size of Africa and South America.