- African Union supports calls to discard the Mercator map projection.
- Campaigners argue the widely used map misrepresents Africa’s true size.
- Advocacy groups petition the United Nations to push for a more accurate global map.
The African Union (AU) has thrown its weight behind a growing international campaign calling for the replacement of the centuries-old Mercator map projection, which critics say has long distorted Africa’s actual size and global standing.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the campaign, tagged #CorrectTheMap, is being championed by two pan-African advocacy organisations Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa. At the heart of their argument is a demand for a map that accurately reflects Africa’s massive geographic size and global significance.
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Although widely used in schools, textbooks, and digital navigation systems like GPS, the Mercator projection developed by 16th-century European cartographer Geert de Kremer, known as Mercator was originally intended for sea travel, not geographical accuracy.
Speaking on the issue, Selma Malika Haddadi, Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission, said the map is more than just a visual tool. “It shapes how the world sees Africa and how Africa sees itself. The Mercator projection falsely diminishes our continent’s scale, contributing to harmful stereotypes of marginality,” she said.
Africa, the second-largest continent on Earth by landmass, often appears drastically smaller on the Mercator projection when compared to Europe and North America. This misrepresentation, according to advocates, influences global perceptions and affects policies, education systems, and international media portrayals.
Moky Makura, Executive Director of Africa No Filter, described the Mercator projection as “perhaps the longest-running misinformation campaign in history,” adding that its continued use has perpetuated misleading visuals that impact African identity and pride.
Fara Ndiaye, co-founder of Speak Up Africa, echoed similar sentiments, noting that the damage starts early. “Children grow up seeing Africa wrongly sized on classroom maps. This distorts their self-perception and sense of place in the world.”
The campaign has reportedly submitted a formal appeal to the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), urging the body to endorse a transition to more accurate alternatives like the Gall-Peters projection which preserves relative landmass size.
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