Continent Challenges Mercator Map Distortion
The 55 nations of the African Union are spearheading a global initiative to replace the traditional Mercator projection with the Equal Earth map. This movement aims to correct centuries of geographical misrepresentation that minimized Africa's true scale.
Historical Distortion Problem
The Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerard Mercator in 1569, was designed for nautical navigation but significantly distorts landmass sizes. Areas near the poles appear disproportionately large while equatorial regions like Africa shrink visually. Despite Africa being the world's second-largest continent, Mercator maps make it appear smaller than Europe - when in reality, the Democratic Republic of Congo alone is larger than Western Europe.
Equal Earth Solution
The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018 by cartographers Bojan Šavrič, Bernhard Jenny, and Tom Patterson, preserves accurate relative landmass sizes. This equal-area pseudocylindrical projection maintains both visual appeal and geographical accuracy. The African Union argues this corrects a psychological imbalance where children grow up seeing Africa as "insignificant" despite its 1.3 billion population and vast resources.
Correct The Map Campaign
NGOs Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa launched the #CorrectTheMap initiative, calling the Mercator projection "the oldest disinformation campaign." They're targeting educational materials and digital platforms like Google Maps that still use Mercator. The campaign has gained traction at UN levels as part of broader decolonization efforts in global representation.