{"id":388142,"date":"2026-08-21T01:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T01:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/388142\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T01:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T01:46:14","slug":"world-maps-have-underestimated-africas-size-for-centuries-activists-hope-to-change-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/388142\/","title":{"rendered":"World maps have underestimated Africa\u2019s size for centuries. Activists hope to change that"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The African Union-backed Correct the Map campaign advocates the Equal Earth projection, shown here, as a fairer alternative to the Mercator projection \u2013 the world’s standard map.Murat Yukselir\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

When a Trump administration official presented a cringingly erroneous map of Africa at a global conference last month, the blunder gave fresh momentum to a campaign for an accurate world map that would finally show the African continent in its true dimensions.<\/p>\n

Each of the African countries highlighted on the U.S. map was wrongly labelled, while some were misshapen or incorrectly located. The U.S. State Department apologized and said it took \u201cfull responsibility\u201d for the \u201cunfortunate error\u201d \u2013 but for many people it was the latest example of the cartography of Western misperceptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just showed the complete and utter disregard for the continent,\u201d said Moky Makura, the executive director of Africa No Filter, a group that pushes for fairer representation of the continent. \u201cNobody bothered to check and nobody noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A screen shows a U.S. government map of Africa with mislabeled countries during a State Department presentation at a global conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 26.Picture obtained by REUTERS\/Reuters<\/p>\n

For centuries, she noted, traditional world maps have grossly underestimated Africa\u2019s size. But now she and other activists are leading a campaign \u2013 backed by the African Union \u2013 to adopt the carefully calibrated \u201cEqual Earth\u201d map, with continents shown in their true proportions.<\/p>\n

The campaign could soon reach the United Nations. Togo\u2019s government has pledged to take the map grievance to the UN General Assembly at its annual meeting next month.<\/p>\n

The injustice can be traced back to a world map created by the Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569 that helped colonial-era sailors navigate across the oceans. The Mercator projection soon became the standard, even for today\u2019s maps, but it exaggerated some land masses. Canada and Greenland dominate the top left side, each seemingly as large as Africa, while Europe and Russia command the centre.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an illusion \u2013 taught in classrooms and textbooks \u2212 that has subconsciously diminished the world\u2019s perception of the African continent. In reality, Africa is three times bigger than Canada and 14 times bigger than Greenland \u2013 yet the maps conceal this.<\/p>\n

The traditional Mercator map is \u201cthe world\u2019s longest misinformation campaign,\u201d Ms. Makura said. \u201cPeople knew it was wrong and continued to use it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maps are storytelling tools, and they always told a story that marginalized Africa\u2019s role in the world, pushing it to the edges of the global imagination, Ms. Makura told The Globe and Mail.<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

Proportional justice<\/p>\n

Created in 1569, the Mercator projection became the world\u2019s standard map, distorting the relative size of Africa and much of the Global South. The African Union-backed Correct the Map campaign advocates the Equal Earth projection as a fairer alternative.<\/p>\n

MERCATOR PROJECTION<\/p>\n

Invented for maritime exploration, it exaggerates the size of countries closer to the North and South poles while under-representing the size of much of South America and Africa.<\/p>\n

A visual comparison of selected regions<\/p>\n

in the Mercator projection<\/p>\n

Versus actual surface areas in millions<\/p>\n

of square kilometres<\/p>\n

EQUAL EARTH PROJECTION<\/p>\n

Developed in 2018 by an international team of cartographers, it addresses the distortions found in the Mercator projection. <\/p>\n

MURAT Y\u00dcKSELIR \/ THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE:<\/p>\n

NATURAL EARTH; WORLDATLAS<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

Proportional justice<\/p>\n

Created in 1569, the Mercator projection became the world\u2019s standard map, distorting the relative size of Africa and much of the Global South. The African Union-backed Correct the Map campaign advocates the Equal Earth projection as a fairer alternative.<\/p>\n

MERCATOR PROJECTION<\/p>\n

Invented for maritime exploration, it exaggerates the size of countries closer to the North and South poles while under-representing the size of much of South America and Africa.<\/p>\n

A visual comparison of selected regions<\/p>\n

in the Mercator projection<\/p>\n

Versus actual surface areas in millions<\/p>\n

of square kilometres<\/p>\n

EQUAL EARTH PROJECTION<\/p>\n

Developed in 2018 by an international team of cartographers, it addresses the distortions found in the Mercator projection. <\/p>\n

MURAT Y\u00dcKSELIR \/ THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE:<\/p>\n

NATURAL EARTH; WORLDATLAS<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

Proportional justice<\/p>\n

Created in 1569, the Mercator projection became the world\u2019s standard map, distorting the relative size of Africa and much of the Global South. The African Union-backed Correct the Map campaign advocates the Equal Earth projection as a fairer alternative.<\/p>\n

MERCATOR PROJECTION<\/p>\n

Invented for maritime exploration, it exaggerates the size of countries closer to the North and South poles while under-representing the size of much of South America and Africa.<\/p>\n

A visual comparison of selected regions in the Mercator projection<\/p>\n

Versus actual surface areas in millions of square kilometres<\/p>\n

EQUAL EARTH PROJECTION<\/p>\n

Developed in 2018 by an international team of cartographers, it addresses the distortions found in the Mercator projection. <\/p>\n

MURAT Y\u00dcKSELIR \/ THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: NATURAL EARTH; WORLDATLAS<\/p>\n

After extensive research, the campaigners opted for the Equal Earth map, which was created in 2018 to show every land mass in its true size. Then they launched the #CorrectTheMap campaign, led by the advocacy groups Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa.<\/p>\n

In videos on social media, the campaign puts a spotlight on the severe distortions in existing maps. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just about size,\u201d the narrator says. \u201cIt\u2019s about power and perception. It\u2019s about a false sense of superiority over the Global South, and this needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if the UN adopts a resolution to endorse the Equal Earth map, however, it has no legal power to impose the map on others. So the campaign is relying on education and awareness to build support for more accurate images.<\/p>\n

Two geography professors at the University of Tennessee, Jack Swab and Derek Alderman, have warned that the inaccurate Mercator-based maps can cause damage in the real world. When U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted the United States to take control of Greenland, he repeatedly cited its \u201cmassive\u201d size \u2013 an assessment that was \u201clikely influenced by map distortion,\u201d the scholars said.<\/p>\n

Togo will ask United Nations member states to adopt a world map that more accurately reflects the true size of Africa and ditch the 16th-century Mercator projection, its foreign minister said.<\/p>\n

Reuters<\/p>\n

The Mercator projection tends to inflate the size of places such as Canada and Greenland that are closer to the North or South poles. \u201cAs the largest continent in the global south, Africa is a victim of this cartographic inequity,\u201d the geography professors noted in an analysis published last year.<\/p>\n

For colonial empires, cartography was always a powerful tool of control, the two scholars said. Europeans drafted maps with blank spaces across Africa to imply that these were empty places that anyone could grab. European leaders then gathered at the Berlin Conference in 1885 to draw new lines on the maps, partitioning and carving up Africa for colonial possessions.<\/p>\n

The campaign for a fairer map was given a dramatic boost a year ago when the African Union endorsed the goal, putting it onto the global agenda for the first time. The AU designated Togo\u2019s government to spearhead the effort at the United Nations, including at the General Assembly next month.<\/p>\n

Opinion: The moment the postcolonial domination of Africa finally ended<\/a><\/p>\n

The AU, announcing its decision, complained that the Mercator map has always diminished a continent that comprises 20 per cent of the world\u2019s land mass, with a population now reaching 1.6 billion.<\/p>\n

\u201cBringing about changes won\u2019t be easy,\u201d professors Swab and Alderman said in their analysis. Because there is no central authority to govern the production of maps, the campaign will need to mobilize support from educators, diplomats, textbook publishers, the media and others.<\/p>\n

Nor will a new map guarantee a fairer and more equal world. \u201cBut it\u2019s a step towards restoring Africa\u2019s rightful visibility on the world stage,\u201d the scholars said.<\/p>\n

The advocacy groups were enthused by the AU\u2019s decision to campaign against the Mercator map. \u201cThis is not a small cartographic error,\u201d Africa No Filter said in its social media posts. \u201cThis is centuries of distortion that has shaped how the world sees Africa \u2212 shrinking its significance, undermining its identity and diminishing its people.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no guarantee that the UN will vote for the Equal Earth map next month. But the campaigners are optimistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are we even having to ask?\u201d Ms. Makura asked. \u201cIt\u2019s a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: The African Union-backed Correct the Map campaign advocates the Equal Earth projection, shown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[63,3278,3267,3279,302,3258,3280,596,3257,3272,3273,3269,3259,3256,262,1143,3277,3271,3266,3290,3260,3261,3110,3268,1600,3263,3281,3264,3285,3286,3288,3283,3287,769,3284,3262,3275,3276,261,3274,3282,417,1073,266,3270,3265,242,3289],"class_list":["post-388142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-africa","tag-africa","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}