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AFRICAN UNION JOINS CALLS TO END USE OF MERCATOR MAP THAT SHRINKS
CONTINENT’S SIZE  
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Reuters
August 15, 2025
The Guardian
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_ Member states back Correct the Map campaign that urges governments
and organisations to use more accurate map _

‘Mercator projections distort the relative size of Europe and North
America loom vast, while Africa and South America shrink.,
BardoczPeter/Getty Images/iStockphoto

 

The African Union
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campaign to end the use by governments and international organisations
of the 16th-century Mercator map of the world in favour of one that
more accurately displays Africa’s size.

Mercator map showing Africa (left), and a map from the Equal Earth
campaign (right). Composite: equal-earth.com, Getty Images

Created by the cartographer Gerardus Mercator for navigation, the
projection distorts continent sizes, enlarging areas near the poles
like North America and Greenland while shrinking Africa
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might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not,” the African
Union Commission deputy chair, Selma Malika Haddadi, told Reuters,
saying the Mercator fostered a false impression that Africa was
“marginal”, despite being the world’s second-largest continent
by area, with more than 1 billion people. The union has 55 member
states.

A 16th-century map of Africa from Mercator’s atlas. Photograph:
Royal Geographical Society/Getty Images

Such stereotypes influence media, education and policy, she said.

Criticism of the Mercator map is not new, but the Correct the Map
campaign led by the advocacy groups Africa No Filter and Speak Up
Africa has revived the debate, urging organisations to adopt the 2018
Equal Earth projection, which tries to reflect countries’ true
sizes.

“The current size of the map of Africa is wrong,” said Moky
Makura, the executive director of Africa No Filter. “It’s the
world’s longest misinformation and disinformation campaign, and it
just simply has to stop.”

Fara Ndiaye, a co-founder of Speak Up Africa, said the Mercator
affected Africans’ identity and pride, especially children who might
encounter it early in school.

“We’re actively working on promoting a curriculum where the Equal
Earth projection will be the main standard across all classrooms,”
Ndiaye said, adding she hoped it would also be the one used by global
institutions, including Africa-based ones. Haddadi said the AU
endorsed the campaign, adding it aligned with its goal of
“reclaiming Africa’s rightful place on the global stage” amid
growing calls for reparations for colonialism and slavery.

The AU will advocate for wider map adoption and discuss collective
actions with member states, Haddadi added.

The Mercator projection is still widely used, including by schools and
tech companies. Google Maps
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Mercator on desktop to a 3D globe view in 2018, though users can still
switch back to the Mercator if they prefer.

The Equal Earth map advocated by the Correct the Map
campaign. Photograph: equal-earth.com

On the mobile app, however, the Mercator projection remains the
default.

Correct the Map wants organisations such as the World Bank and the UN
to adopt the Equal Earth map. A World Bank spokesperson said it
already used the Winkel tripel projection or Equal Earth for static
maps and was phasing out Mercator on web maps.

The campaign said it had sent a request to the UN geospatial body,
UN-GGIM. A UN spokesperson said that once received it must be reviewed
and approved by a committee of experts.

Other regions are backing the AU’s efforts. Dorbrene O’Marde, the
vice-chair of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Reparations
Commission, endorsed Equal Earth as a rejection of the Mercator
map’s “ideology of power and dominance”.

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* Africa
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* Mercator Map
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* Politics
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* History
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* colonialism
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* Europe
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* Age of Empire
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* African Union
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* Correct Map Campaign
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