55 Countries Say the World Map Is All Wrong

For centuries, the familiar Mercator world map has quietly distorted Africa's size and significance. Now, a coalition of African nations is leading a campaign to set the record straight with a new, more accurate map. Designed in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator for nautical navigation, the Mercator map stretches regions the farther they get from the equator, making Greenland look as large as Africa, a continent 14 times its size, and making North America look four times as big as it truly is, per the Washington Post. While the Mercator's grid system makes it a favorite for both sailors and digital cartographers, critics say its distortions have real-world consequences, especially for Africa.

Now, the African Union is throwing its support behind a campaign to swap out the Mercator in favor of the Equal Earth projection, which better represents the true sizes of land masses, even if it means distorting their shapes. "No map projection is perfect—it is impossible to fit the spherical globe onto a 2D surface without compromises," Tom Patterson, who co-created the Equal Earth map in 2017, tells the Post. Yet for many in Africa, seeing the continent accurately depicted is about more than geography: It's a statement on visibility, identity, and how future generations learn to see their place in the world.

The campaign, called Correct the Map, argues that maps like Mercator have long minimized Africa's presence, a legacy rooted in colonial expansion. Backers, including Speak Up Africa co-founder Fara Ndiaye, call it a historic move that shifts the debate from cultural critique to political action. The goal of the campaign is to have international organizations, including the United Nations, replace their maps with the Equal Earth version. The World Bank has already agreed to replace its Mercator projection maps, per the Post. NASA and National Geographic have begun using the Equal Earth map, too, reports NPR. The campaign also asks people in support of the mission to sign a Change.org petition, which has just over 6,500 signatures so far.