The African Union has endorsed a campaign to end the use of the Mercator map, saying it distorts Africa’s true size and reinforces outdated stereotypes.
First drawn in the 16th century for navigation, Gerardus Mercator’s projection enlarges landmasses near the poles such as Greenland and North America, while shrinking Africa and South America.
AU Commission deputy chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi told Reuters the map gave a false impression of Africa as “marginal” despite being the world’s second-largest continent with more than a billion people.
Campaign to ‘Correct the Map’
The push is led by advocacy groups Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa. They urge governments and global organizations to adopt the 2018 Equal Earth projection, which reflects countries’ true proportions.
“The current size of the map of Africa is wrong. It’s the world’s longest misinformation and disinformation campaign,” said Moky Makura, executive director of Africa No Filter.
Identity and education
Speak Up Africa co-founder Fara Ndiaye said the Mercator shaped how Africans saw themselves, especially children in classrooms. She said the campaign is promoting Equal Earth as the standard across African schools and hopes it will become the default for international bodies too.
AU’s position
Haddadi said backing the campaign fit the AU’s goal of “reclaiming Africa’s rightful place on the global stage,” adding it ties into wider calls for reparations for colonialism and slavery.
Beyond Africa
The Mercator projection remains widely used, including in schools and on tech platforms. Google Maps switched to a 3D globe on desktop in 2018, though Mercator is still default on mobile.
The World Bank said it already uses Equal Earth or Winkel-Tripel for static maps and is phasing out Mercator in digital products. A request has also been sent to the UN’s geospatial committee for review.
Support extends beyond Africa. Dorbrene O’Marde of CARICOM’s Reparations Commission endorsed Equal Earth as a rejection of the Mercator’s “ideology of power and dominance.”
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