When Abimbola Ogundairo came across a beautifully crafted wooden world map, she had a question that most buyers wouldn’t think to ask: “Which map projection was used?” Despite reaching out to the manufacturer, she never received an answer. Suspecting the use of a flawed map projection, she decided not to buy it.
Ogundairo’s deep interest in map projections stems from her work leading an African-driven campaign aimed at urging global institutions and educational systems to stop using the Mercator projection—the most common world map projection. This map notoriously diminishes Africa’s true size while inflating the proportions of Europe and North America.
For instance, Greenland appears nearly the same size as Africa on the Mercator map, but Africa is actually about 14 times larger. Similarly, Europe is depicted as larger than South America, although it is only half its size in reality.
Activists like Ogundairo advocate for “equal area” projections, which more accurately reflect the actual size of Africa. Since May, her group, Africa No Filter, has been running the “Correct the World” campaign, encouraging people to sign petitions that urge governments and organizations to adopt fairer maps. Many people are shocked when they learn about these distortions.
Ogundairo shared how her uncle was astonished to discover that Africa could contain the US, China, and India within its borders. “He felt betrayed,” she said. Despite some resistance from institutions, she remains determined to highlight this important issue.
The challenge of representing a spherical Earth on a flat surface has puzzled cartographers for centuries. Experts agree that no flat map can perfectly depict all aspects of our three-dimensional planet without some form of distortion—whether in area, shape, or distance.
The Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1599, was originally designed for sea navigation because it preserves angles and shapes, making it easy to plot a straight course. However, its scale is highly distorted, especially near the poles.
Lindsay Frederick Braun, a geography professor, explains that Mercator works well for local maps and is still used by digital tools like Google Maps but becomes misleading when showing the whole world. The projection’s popularity is partly due to its availability during colonial times and its appeal to powerful Western nations.
Various alternative projections have emerged over the years to correct Mercator’s distortions, but all involve trade-offs. One notable challenger was the Peters projection, introduced in 1973 by German activist Arno Peters, who claimed it provided a more accurate, “equal area” representation. Peters emphasized social justice, criticizing the Eurocentric bias of Mercator. While Peters’ map gained support, including from the US National Council of Churches, critics argued it introduced different distortions and that the projection was similar to an earlier map created by James Gall in 1855.
The debate reignited in 2016 when Boston public schools adopted the “Gall-Peters” projection as part of efforts to “decolonize the curriculum,” sparking renewed public interest and controversy.
In response, a team of cartographers led by Bernard Jenny developed the “Equal Earth” projection in 2018, which offers a visually balanced, accurate depiction of land area without the extremes of Mercator or Peters. This projection enlarges Africa to its true scale relative to other continents, with Greenland appearing fourteen times smaller than Africa, just as it is in reality.
The Equal Earth map has been adopted by organizations like NASA and the World Bank, signaling a gradual shift toward more accurate representations of the globe.
Ogundairo believes this change is critical because map projections influence how people perceive power and importance. The widespread use of distorted maps perpetuates misconceptions about Africa, affecting business decisions, tourism, and even the continent’s self-image.
She argues that Africans must take the lead in demanding fair representation. “If we don’t tell our own story, others will tell it for us,” she said. Her campaign urges African governments and the African Union to be vocal about how their continent is depicted visually on the world stage.
The movement to correct the world map is gaining momentum, but Ogundairo stresses that the real change must begin within Africa itself.
Source: Al Jazeera
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