African Union backs campaign to replace Mercator map that distorts Africa's size
Source: NPR
August 21, 2025 5:00 AM ET
The African Union has joined a campaign calling for the widely-used Mercator map, which makes Africa appear smaller than it is, to be replaced with a map that more accurately reflects the continent's relative size.
AU Commission Deputy Chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi told Reuters when the size of Africa is misrepresented on maps, the world's perception of the continent is also distorted, including in media, education and policy. "It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not," she said.
Organizations such as Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa are leading the "Correct The Map" petition. As of Wednesday evening, the petition was about 800 signatures short of its goal of 5,000.
"By correcting the map, we aim to shift perceptions and highlight the true scale, power, and potential of the African continent," the campaign explained in a slideshow presentation about the effort, which is provided as a resource on its website.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/08/21/nx-s1-5508358/mercator-map-africa
Link to SLIDE DECK (viewer) - Correct The Map — Social media toolkit web
Orthographic
This projection emulates a globe, but it has its drawbacks: Only part of the world is visible, and features become more distorted the farther they are from the focal point.
Mercator
Historically, this style of map has been popular for navigation. However, landmasses are greatly distorted toward the poles, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. Here, Greenland appears as large as Africa.
Equal Earth
Landmasses are truer to their relative areas, and the rounded shape suggests a globe. The Correct the Map campaign, endorsed by the African Union, advocates for this map projection to help counteract misperceptions fed by projections like the Mercator map.
Credit: Alyson Hurt/NPR
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Or, just use this Mercator correct-size mosaic.
