The United Nations General Assembly on Friday endorsed a new world map that represents Africa more accurately in its larger size, marking the culmination of a recent campaign led by African countries and advocacy groups.

The resolution, sponsored by Togo and backed by members of the African Union, passed with 164 member states voting in favor. The United States was the only country to vote against it, while six others — Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine — abstained. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding on member states, so the practical effect of the vote will depend on whether governments, publishers and technology companies act on it voluntarily.

The vote encourages governments and institutions worldwide to replace the traditional Mercator map, in common use since the 16th century, with the Equal Earth projection, which advocates and geographers say shows locations more accurately. The resolution does not ban the Mercator projection or mandate a replacement, but only encourages the adoption of the Equal Earth projection, the U.N. said in its report.

The difference between the two projections is striking. The Mercator projection depicts Greenland and Africa as roughly the same size, whereas in the Equal Earth projection, which shows continents in their true proportions, Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland.

"Maps shape our understanding of the world," the global body quoted Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey as saying before the vote. "They guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions."

Africa No Filter, one of the lead campaigners for the adoption of the new map, hailed the resolution, adding: "We want to see accurate maps in schools, textbooks, newsrooms, businesses and on the digital platforms billions of people use every day."

Several countries welcomed the adoption and urged broader use of the Equal Earth map. "Changing the map obviously doesn't change the world. But correcting a representation that distorts it is already an act of truth," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on X after the vote.

The Mercator map was designed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator to aid European navigators at sea, but advocates say it distorted landmasses by enlarging regions near the poles, such as North America and Greenland, while shrinking Africa and South America. The Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018, follows the Earth's curvature and displays continents in their true proportions.

The debate over map projections is not new: the Mercator view has faced criticism for decades, and earlier alternatives such as the Peters projection gained attention in the 1970s and 1980s for similar reasons, though none displaced Mercator's dominance in classrooms and media. What may set the current push apart is the role of digital platforms, whose default map choices now shape how billions of people see the world daily.

Geographers say the traditional map remains useful only for navigation. "Outside of that very narrow navigation application, there is no point in using it," said Mark Monmonier, a professor of geography at Syracuse University.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.