Africa finally correct: African Union is fighting for new world map!

Africa finally correct: African Union is fighting for new world map!

On September 8, 2025, the African Union took a decisive step to correct the global card perception by joining the "correct the map" movement. This initiative aims to replace the Mercator projection, which has long been used for a long time. Loud Exxpress the Mercator projection causes massive distortions, especially in regions such as Africa, which are close to the equator. A well -known example are the uneven proportions in which Africa is shown in this projection smaller than Greenland, although Africa is actually about fourteen times larger.

The "correct the map" initiative was launched in April 2023 by the organizations Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa. The campaign aims to move schools, media and institutions to switch to the 2018 Equal Earth projection. Fara Ndiaye, co -founder of Speak Up Africa, strengthens the importance of this movement by explaining that the correction of the cards is a global concern that significantly influences the perception of the continent.

Distortion of reality

Professor Mark Monmonian from Syracuse University criticizes the Mercator projection as outdated and is bothered by its effect on modern education. One crucial point is that the distortion not only exists in terms of area, but also in the perception of the demographic, economic and strategic importance of Africa. In particular, the importance of the continent is often greatly underestimated by non-Africans, which has profound effects on political and economic decisions.

In addition to the incorrect representation of Africa, the Mercator projection also shows Greenland as large as Africa, although Greenland is actually 14 smaller. The Antarctic is also shown disproportionately, almost as large as the entire remaining land mass. Such distortions are inevitable in cartography, since they represent the changed routes, angles or surface dimensions on the projection of the globe onto a flat surface.

Card justice for the future

On August 14, 2025, the movement reached an important milestone when the African Union with its 55 member states officially agreed to the initiative. This is not only a significant progress for card justice, but also for social awareness of reality and the potential of Africa. The Equal Earth card protects the central surface conditions better than the Mercator projection and could therefore contribute to a more realistic understanding of the world.

It is known in science that distortions in the illustrations of surfaces curved in two directions such as the earth are inevitable. These distortions increase the greater the area shown, which significantly influences the choice of the map for education and information. Future generations will therefore benefit from this initiative because it gives a more precise picture of global conditions.

Overall, the "correct the map" campaign shows the potential for a fairer and more balanced representation of the world, which goes beyond old, incorrect projection methods. Even though the Mercator projection stands for many loved traditions, progress in cartography is essential to reflect on the true picture of the world.