The African Union has taken a historic step by adopting a new world map that accurately represents the true size of continents, replacing the widely used but distorted Mercator projection.
For centuries, the Mercator map has been the standard in classrooms and atlases, despite its significant inaccuracies. The projection notoriously enlarges regions closer to the poles, making Europe and North America appear disproportionately large compared to Africa and South America.
Why the Change Matters
The decision follows years of criticism from geographers and activists who argue that the Mercator projection perpetuates colonial-era biases by diminishing the perceived size of African nations. The new map, based on the Gall-Peters projection, presents landmasses in their correct proportions.
Key Differences:
- Africa’s true scale: On the Mercator map, Greenland appears larger than Africa, when in reality Africa is 14 times bigger.
- South America corrected: The continent is nearly twice the size of Europe, a fact obscured by traditional maps.
- Equatorial fairness: Countries near the equator are no longer shrunk to fit a Eurocentric perspective.
The African Union’s move is expected to influence educational curricula and global perceptions of geography, reinforcing a more equitable view of the world.
