African Union Supports Campaign to Replace Distorted Mercator Map

The African Union (AU) has endorsed the 'Correct The Map' campaign, which seeks to replace the traditional Mercator projection with the Equal Earth projection to more accurately depict Africa's true size.

The Mercator map, developed in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator, distorts the size of landmasses, making regions near the poles appear larger while minimizing equatorial areas like Africa.

AU Commission Deputy Chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi stated that this distortion creates a false impression of Africa as marginal, despite its actual size.

Advocacy groups Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa are leading the campaign, urging organizations to adopt the Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018, which preserves the relative sizes of continents more accurately.

Moky Makura, executive director of Africa No Filter, described the Mercator map as 'the world's longest misinformation and disinformation campaign' and emphasized the need for change.

The campaign aims to reform school curricula across the continent and encourage international organizations to switch to maps that accurately represent Africa’s size.

The AU's endorsement aligns with broader efforts to reclaim Africa's global standing and challenge lingering colonial narratives.

The World Bank has begun phasing out the Mercator map in favor of the Equal Earth projection, and Google Maps made the Mercator map optional on its desktop version in 2018.

The campaign has also reached out to the United Nations to assist in its mission to replace the Mercator map.