Africa Pushes UN to Adopt Map Showing Its True Size

For centuries, the most common world map has been shrinking Africa in plain sight, and now the continent is fighting back.

Togo will ask the United Nations General Assembly this September to retire the Mercator projection, a map created in 1569 that makes Greenland appear almost as large as Africa. In reality, Africa is 14 times bigger.

The African Union approved the proposal in April after leaders discussed the issue at their February summit. They're championing the Equal Earth wall map, which shows continents at their accurate sizes.

"Maps are not neutral," says Faya Ndiaye, deputy executive director of Speak Up Africa. She explains that when Africa appears smaller than it really is, people unconsciously view the continent as less important in global affairs.

The Mercator map was groundbreaking in its time. Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator designed it to help sailors navigate by showing compass directions as straight lines, which revolutionized ocean travel.

But what worked for 16th-century navigation has shaped perceptions for far too long. The map places Europe at the center and makes northern continents appear massive while shrinking regions near the equator.

"Maybe it was not meant to minimize Africa, but we know that it was important for European powers to place Europe as the centre of the world," Ndiaye told RFI. The African Union agrees, stating the distortion "influences perceptions and negatively affects the objective assessment of Africa's economic viability."

The Ripple Effect

This isn't the first time activists have tried to correct the map. In the 1970s, German historian Arno Peters revived an equal-area projection that preserves the true size of landmasses. UN agencies like UNESCO and UNICEF adopted it, and many schools in the UK and US still use it today.

The push mirrors other post-colonial efforts to reshape narratives about Africa. When Ghana gained independence in 1957, it chose its name to honor an ancient empire. Zimbabwe dropped the colonial name Rhodesia in 1980.

Carlos Lopes of the University of Cape Town, who co-founded the Correct the Map project in 2025, says geography remains a powerful force in shaping how people view Africa. "There are some markers that continue to be used that influence the views about the continent," he explains.

The movement is gaining momentum beyond academics. Africa No Filter, a group focused on changing global narratives about the continent, is helping spread awareness about how map choice matters.

A continent finally appearing at its full size could change how the world sees its potential.