United Nations backs the Equal Earth map over the Mercator projection

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution supporting the Equal Earth map projection over the Mercator projection. The vote was 164 countries in favor. One country, the United States, voted against. Six countries abstained.

A map projection is a way of drawing the round Earth on a flat page. Mercator is the projection the resolution asks to move away from. Equal Earth is the projection the assembly supported. The report does not reprint the technical formulas of either map.

The tally is 164 yes, one no, and six abstentions. The lone no vote is identified as the United States. The six abstaining countries are not named. The majority in favor is the outcome of the resolution.

A General Assembly resolution of this kind is a political endorsement of a mapping standard. The report does not say every member state must reprint its textbooks by a deadline. It records the vote and the preference for Equal Earth over Mercator.

No amendment vote is described. No sponsor list is included in the short note. The numbers are the result. Readers can see a large majority, a single opposing vote, and a small group of abstentions.

The confirmed diplomatic facts are the resolution, the Equal Earth projection, the comparison with Mercator, 164 votes in favor, a United States vote against, and six abstentions. The countries that abstained are not named. No deadline for reprinting maps is stated.