The African Union has thrown its weight behind a campaign to replace the centuries-old Mercator map projection with one that more accurately reflects the continent’s true size. At first glance, the dispute may seem academic, but the AU insists that the way Africa is depicted on the world map has real consequences for climate policy, investment, and the pursuit of sustainable development.
For more than 400 years, the Mercator projection has shaped how people imagine the world. Designed for navigation, it inflates land near the poles and diminishes regions along the equator. That distortion has made Africa, despite being the world’s second-largest continent, appear smaller than Greenland on classroom maps and in the media. The AU argues that such portrayals reinforce a false sense of marginality that filters into education, politics, and economics.
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AU Commission deputy chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi described the map as “not just geography but ideology.” In her view, showing Africa as smaller than it is contributes to the perception that the continent is peripheral, a perception that undermines Africa’s claims to resources and representation in international forums. At a time when African leaders are pressing for fairer climate finance and a greater voice in global governance, visibility matters.
The debate touches directly on sustainability and climate action. Africa emits less than 4 percent of global greenhouse gases, yet its communities are among the hardest hit by floods, droughts, and rising temperatures. Advocates argue that a truer picture of Africa’s size highlights its centrality to solving the climate crisis. The continent holds some of the world’s most significant forests, vast potential for solar and wind energy, and a young, growing population driving innovation in adaptation and resilience. When Africa is shown at its real scale, the argument goes, its importance in global climate solutions is harder to ignore.
The implications extend to investment and ESG frameworks. Multinational companies and development institutions often treat Africa as a small or high-risk market, but a map that restores its actual proportions underscores the scale of its opportunities. Accurate representation can help shift investor perceptions, encouraging capital to flow into renewable energy, green infrastructure, and climate-resilient agriculture. In governance terms, embracing a fairer cartographic standard also aligns with the principles of accountability and inclusion that ESG reporting demands.
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At the social level, maps shape identity. Campaigners say that African children who see their continent diminished on wall charts and in digital apps internalize a sense of smallness. Replacing Mercator with the Equal Earth projection in schools, as organizations like Speak Up Africa propose, would send a different message: that Africa is vast, vital, and central to the world’s future. This effort dovetails with broader calls to decolonize education and knowledge systems, giving the next generation a clearer view of their place in the world.
The African Union’s endorsement of the “Correct The Map” initiative is therefore more than symbolic. It represents an attempt to reclaim space, not only on paper, but in the global imagination. As climate negotiations intensify and the pressure mounts to finance Africa’s transition to sustainable growth, how the continent is seen will influence how it is treated. A map cannot solve structural inequities or secure climate justice on its own, but it can challenge narratives that have long worked against Africa.
By pressing for an accurate portrayal of its geography, the AU is also pressing for recognition of Africa’s true weight in shaping the planet’s sustainable future. The fight over the map is, in that sense, a fight over power, equity, and survival in a warming world.
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