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The Equal Earth projection shows the continents in more realistic proportions - in contrast to the classic Mercator map, which greatly exaggerates areas such as Europe or North America.
equal-earth.com
For centuries, the Mercator map has shown the African continent smaller than it actually is. Now the African Union is calling for an end to this distortion, for Equal Earth and a new picture of global size and power relations.
In 1569, the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator published his famous projection. Its advantage: ships could navigate the world's oceans with a constant course using the straight lines on the map.
However, this benefit came at a price: countries close to the equator were shown small, while areas to the north were enormously inflated. As a result, Greenland appears as large as Africa on the Mercator map. In reality, the continent is 14 times larger.
Gerardus Mercator's projection made navigation easier - and Africa smaller. He created the famous world map in 1569.
Wikimedia
The Mercator projection is still ubiquitous today. On school wall maps, in atlases, on Google Maps. Its simple grid makes it ideal for zoom and navigation functions. However, critics see it not only as a technical tool, but also as a symbol of colonial power.
Since this summer, the African Union (AU) has been supporting the Correct the Map campaign, which calls for Mercator maps to be replaced by more realistic representations such as the Equal Earth projection. This shows the areas in their true proportions, albeit with distorted shapes.
"Maps shape how we understand the world," Tom Patterson, co-developer of Equal Earth, told the Washington Post. "The kind of distortions in Mercator's projections can have a misleading impact on people's view of the world."
For the AU, the map is therefore more than geography. "It may just look like a map, but in reality it is much more," Selma Malika Haddadi, Vice President of the AU Commission, told Reuters.
The African Union is supporting a campaign to get organizations around the world to replace the Mercator map with a new projection that more accurately reflects the actual size of the continent. Here is a comparison between the Mercator and Equal Earth projections.
New York Times (Weiyi Cai) (Screenshot)
The idea now is to move away from a colonial-era map, which critics say has diminished Africa's importance in the collective consciousness. The continent with over one billion people should no longer appear as a side note. "The Mercator projection has marginalized Africa," said Haddadi. In reality, it is the second largest continent in the world.
Historians remind us that the Mercator map was closely linked to the interests of European maritime powers. Holland and England used it in the 17th century to depict trade routes and colonies, an instrument of expansion and demonstration of power.
To this day, it distorts northern regions in particular: Great Britain appears almost three times larger, North America four times larger than in reality.
Africa's true dimensions: not only the USA, China and India fit into the outline of the continent, but also Europe and Japan. This makes it clear how much maps such as the Mercator projection distort Africa's size.
correctthemap.org (Kai Krause)
For African critics, this is more than just a technical error. It is part of a centuries-long cultural devaluation that begins in the classroom: children see their homeland as smaller and less important than it is.
The Equal Earth map, developed in 2018, aims to facilitate this change in perspective. It is true to area and aims to restore balance on the map. International organizations such as the World Bank are already using it. The US Geological Survey is also considering the change.
"The support of the African Union is a historic milestone. It transforms our cultural demand into a political one," said Fara Ndiaye, co-founder of Speak Up Africa, a Senegalese NGO that launched the campaign together with Africa No Filter.
Although the AU is currently still using the Mercator projection on its own website, her organization is working with the confederation to change this. The campaign has called on numerous international organizations to replace their maps.
With Google Maps, users can choose between the Mercator and Globe view on the desktop. On cell phones, however, Google Maps only offers the Mercator projection.
The Equal Earth map is not perfect either. No flat projection can depict spherical shapes without distortion. But it does get the balance right. Africa appears in its real dimensions, South America is no longer shrunk, Europe and North America lose surface area.
For Fara Ndiaye, the initiative is a "historic milestone": "It means that children in Africa and around the world can see their continent in its true size. Maps are never neutral. They shape our idea of power, identity and history."
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