African Union Endorses Historic Campaign to Fix 500-Year-Old Map Distortion

Key Takeaways

• The African Union has officially endorsed the "Correct The Map" campaign, marking the first time the continental body has formally backed efforts to replace the 16th-century Mercator projection with more accurate map representations
• The Mercator projection makes Africa appear significantly smaller than it actually is, despite the continent being large enough to fit the United States, China, India, and most of Europe combined
• Organizations like the World Bank are already transitioning to the Equal Earth projection, while the United Nations has received formal requests for review
• The campaign aims to transform educational curricula across African classrooms and influence global institutions to adopt accurate map projections

The African Union's endorsement of the "Correct The Map" campaign represents a pivotal moment in challenging centuries of cartographic misrepresentation that has diminished Africa's perceived global significance. AU Commission Deputy Chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi emphasized that "it might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not," highlighting how the Mercator projection has fostered false impressions that Africa is "marginal" despite being the world's second-largest continent.

Led by advocacy organizations Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa, the campaign promotes adoption of the Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018 to better preserve countries' proportional areas. Executive Director Moky Makura of Africa No Filter called the Mercator projection "the world's longest misinformation and disinformation campaign," demanding its end.

The World Bank has confirmed it already uses the Winkel-Tripel or Equal Earth projections for static maps and is phasing out Mercator on web maps. Meanwhile, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparations Commission has endorsed Equal Earth as a rejection of the Mercator map's "ideology of power and dominance". This broader coalition reflects growing recognition that accurate representation matters for how the world perceives and values different regions.

Fara Ndiaye, co-founder of Speak Up Africa, outlined ambitious plans to make the Equal Earth projection "the main standard across all African classrooms," with hopes that global institutions will follow suit.