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African Union Commission Backs Campaign to Replace Mercator With Equal Earth

The push seeks to correct classroom maps that shrink Africa through area distortion.

Overview

  • The Commission formally joined the Correct the Map campaign in August 2025, urging adoption of the Equal Earth projection in education and research.
  • The initiative targets the Mercator map’s area bias, which makes Greenland appear similar in size to Africa even though Africa is roughly 14 times larger.
  • Equal Earth, created in 2018 by Bojan Šavrič, Tom Patterson and Bernhard Jenny, preserves relative land area while offering a familiar world view.
  • Supporters including Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa say distorted maps shape perceptions and can reinforce unequal views of the continent.
  • News reports note that major digital platforms such as Google Maps still display Mercator-style views, with no public commitment to change reported.