The U.N. voted to promote map projections that more accurately represent the world, drawing official opposition from the U.S.

The UN has endorsed a new world map using the Equal Earth projection. See how the map compares and why Africa gains the most relative size.

UN has backed a new world map designed to show the relative size of continents more accurately, particularly correcting the way Africa is visually diminished on the traditional Mercator projection.

The United Nations will vote Friday to adopt a new map of the world meant to make the countries appear more true to size than on the map we use today.

Disregard what you learned in geography class—Earth may not have seven continents after all. From the earliest of grades, schoolchildren around the world have memorized the same lineup: Africa, ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The history of Earth's continents might be different from what we first ...

As the UN adopts a new world map to reflect Africa's true size, let's take a closer look at what different maps get right and ...

The United Nations adopted the Equal Earth map showing Africa's true size, but the United States was the sole nation to vote against the resolution.

Africa has long been represented as smaller than its real size in maps, which are largely based on an ancient projection.