The African Union is pushing for 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 for navigation, distorts landmasses by enlarging areas near the poles while shrinking those around the equator, such as Africa and South America.

This is important because:

• The distortion fuels misleading stereotypes about Africa’s global significance, portraying it as “marginal” despite being the second-largest continent and home to over a billion people.
• The African Union’s effort reflects its broader mission of “reclaiming Africa’s rightful place on the global stage,” particularly amid growing calls for reparations over slavery and colonialism.

The proposed solution is:

• The African Union is advocating for the adoption of the Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018, which provides a more accurate representation of Africa’s size.
• Some institutions, like Google Maps and the World Bank, have already moved away from the Mercator projection, adopting alternative projections like the Equal Earth and Winkel-Tripel projections.

The campaign’s progress:

• A review request is pending before the UN geospatial body, UN-GGIM.
• Regional blocs like the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have voiced support, describing the change as a rejection of the “ideology of power and dominance” embedded in the Mercator map.