US EditionAfrican Union urges adoption of world map showing continent's true size
The African Union supports replacing the Mercator map with the 2018 Equal Earth projection to correct size distortions affecting Africa’s representation, backed by advocacy groups and global institutions.
- The African Union has supported the 'Correct The Map' campaign, which aims to replace the outdated Mercator map—known for distorting the true size of Africa—with a projection that more accurately represents the continent’s scale.
- The campaign emerged because the Mercator projection distorts continent sizes, shrinking Africa and inflating areas like North America, fostering false narratives about Africa's marginality.
- The campaign, supported by advocacy organizations focused on African representation, promotes the use of the 2018 Equal Earth map projection to more accurately depict Africa’s size and address issues of misrepresentation.
- Key supporters include Mr Dorbrene O'Marde, who described Mercator's map as promoting an 'ideology of power and dominance', and a World Bank spokesperson noting they phase out Mercator on web maps.
- The African Union intends to promote broader implementation of the Equal Earth projection and collaborate with its member states on coordinated initiatives, signaling a movement for international organizations to reconsider their choice of world maps.
28 Articles
28 Articles
They want to generalize another map that more realistically reflects the true size of countries.
African Union urges adoption of world map showing continent’s true size
The African Union has backed a campaign to end the use by governments and international organizations of the 16th-century Mercator map of the world in favor of one that more accurately displays Africa’s size.
African Union backs map campaign showing Africa’s true size
The African Union has joined a campaign urging global institutions to adopt a map of Africa that more accurately reflects the continent’s size. The Mercator map, widely used since 1599, shows a version of Africa that has been distorted to appear significantly smaller on account of the globe’s spherical shape. The “Correct the Map” campaign promotes a version of the Earth that more accurately reflects its scale, even on a 2-D surface. “It might s…
African Union urges adoption of world map showing continent's true size
The African Union has backed a campaign to end the use by governments and international organisations of the 16th-century Mercator map of the world in favour of one that more accurately displays Africa's size.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
