- Advocacy groups call for a shift from the distorted Mercator projection to the Equal Earth projection.
- The African Union officially endorses the campaign, marking a major milestone.
- Experts argue the Mercator projection is outdated and misrepresents Africa’s true global importance.
- Equal Earth projection offers a more realistic depiction of continents’ proportions.
Correct the Map Campaign: On many classroom walls and digital platforms, the Mercator projection map has long shaped how the world sees geography. But critics say it significantly distorts reality, especially when it comes to Africa.
On the Mercator projection, Greenland and Africa appear roughly the same size. In reality, Africa is so vast that it could contain about 14 Greenlands. The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018, corrects this distortion by showing continents in their true proportions.
For decades, academics and campaigners have criticized the Mercator projection for shrinking Africa and South America while enlarging regions near the poles, such as Greenland and North America.
Originally designed in the 16th century by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator to help European sailors navigate, the map was never meant to be used as a standard world reference.
Now, a new campaign led by African advocacy groups is gaining traction online. Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa launched the “Correct The Map” initiative in April, urging schools, media organizations, and global institutions to adopt the Equal Earth projection. Their goal: to ensure Africa is represented accurately to the world.
“Correcting the map is not only an African issue. It is a matter of truth and accuracy that concerns the entire world. When whole generations, in Africa and elsewhere, learn from a distorted map, they develop a biased view of Africa’s role in the world,” said Fara Ndiaye, co-founder and deputy executive director of Speak Up Africa.
Ndiaye stressed that minimizing Africa’s true size undermines its demographic, economic, and strategic importance in global affairs. With more than 1.4 billion people, Africa represents a rising force in population growth, trade, and natural resources.
The movement gained significant momentum on August 14, when the African Union (AU), representing 55 nations, officially endorsed the campaign. Advocates describe this as a landmark step in reshaping how the world sees Africa.
Academic experts also back the call for change. Mark Monmonier, professor of geography at Syracuse University, said the Mercator projection is obsolete:
“It was a useful navigation tool in the 16th century, because it has straight lines, giving navigators a line of constant direction to sail along. But outside of that very narrow navigation application, there is no point in using it.”
Monmonier acknowledged that while maps like the Equal Earth projection better reflect the Earth’s curvature and true proportions, visual comparisons of irregular landmasses will always be imperfect.
“When you put irregularly shaped areas on a flat paper, people are going to have a hard time accurately comparing the size of landmasses,” he noted, adding that bar graphs remain the most precise method for size comparisons.
Still, advocates argue that replacing the Mercator projection with the Equal Earth projection would help dismantle long-standing biases in education, media, and global policy discussions.
True Size Of Africa Map: By accurately reflecting Africa’s scale, they hope to change not only geography lessons but also the way the world perceives the continent’s role on the global stage.
