African Union pushes UN to adopt new map showing Africa’s actual scale
The Mercator projection, created in the 16th century by cartographer Gerardus Mercator for navigation, distorts landmasses by enlarging areas near the poles while shrinking those around the equator, such as Africa and South America.
The African Union (AU) has endorsed a global campaign to replace the widely used Mercator world map with one that accurately reflects Africa’s true size.
The Mercator projection, created in the 16th century by cartographer Gerardus Mercator for navigation, distorts landmasses by enlarging areas near the poles while shrinking those around the equator, such as Africa and South America.
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Critics argue that this distortion fuels misleading stereotypes about Africa’s global significance.
"It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not," AU Commission Deputy Chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi told Reuters, stressing that the projection wrongly portrays Africa as "marginal" despite being the second-largest continent and home to more than a billion people.
The push comes under the "Correct The Map" campaign, led by advocacy groups Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa. The initiative is urging governments, schools, and international bodies to adopt the Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018.
Review request
The campaign has already reached the United Nations, where a review request is pending before the UN geospatial body, UN-GGIM.
Regional blocs such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have also voiced support, describing the change as a rejection of the "ideology of power and dominance" embedded in the Mercator map.
"The current size of the map of Africa is wrong," said Moky Makura, executive director of Africa No Filter.
"It's the world's longest misinformation and disinformation campaign, and it just simply has to stop."
Undermines African pride
Fara Ndiaye, co-founder of Speak Up Africa, warned that the Mercator projection undermines African pride and identity, particularly among schoolchildren.
"We're actively working on promoting a curriculum where the Equal Earth projection will be the main standard across all African classrooms," she said.
According to Haddadi, the AU’s support reflects its broader mission of "reclaiming Africa's rightful place on the global stage" at a time when calls for reparations over slavery and colonialism are gaining momentum.
While the Mercator projection remains widely used, some institutions have begun moving away from it.
Google Maps introduced a globe view in 2018, and the World Bank has since adopted the Equal Earth and Winkel-Tripel projections.
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