Did you know the world map you grew up with is wrong?

If you’ve seen the Mercator projection—the most commonly used world map—you’ve probably believed that Africa is roughly the same size as Greenland. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In reality, Africa is 14 times larger. You could fit the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico and much of Europe into Africa and still have land to spare.

Yet, most of the world continues to favor this distorted map, misrepresenting Africa’s scale and diminishing its significance.

It is time to correct this!

What #CorrectTheMap Campaign is Asking For

As Africa becomes increasingly central to solving global challenges, it is critical to represent its true scale. That’s why the #CorrectTheMap campaign calls on:

• The United Nations, as the global leader in international cooperation, and,
• The BBC, as a global leading international media organization

To adopt the Equal Earth projection in their data, reports, and materials that include world maps. With their influence, these institutions can set a new standard and encourage others to follow suit in ensuring Africa is represented accurately as a critical driver of global growth and development.

How Did We Get Here?

“Geography has a history.” – Mahmood Mamdani

The maps we use today were shaped by the priorities of the times in which they were created. The Mercator projection, for example, was designed in the 16th century for navigation, distorting the size of continents like Africa to fit its original purpose. Over time, these distortions have persisted, shaping how the world perceives Africa.

This distortion isn’t just a cartographic error—it’s a narrative failure. In a world where size is often equated with power, misrepresenting Africa’s true scale reinforces harmful misconceptions about its geopolitical and economic significance.

Why We Need the Equal Earth Projection

All maps distort reality to some extent because it’s impossible to perfectly flatten a three-dimensional globe. However, the Mercator map’s distortions are particularly harmful, exaggerating the size of Europe and North America while shrinking Africa.

The Equal Earth projection provides a better solution. It preserves the relative size of continents, accurately reflects Africa’s proportions, and presents continents in shapes closer to what you’d see on a globe. This makes it the ideal choice for small-scale maps, global views, and world maps that prioritize fairness and representation.

Join Us to #CorrectTheMap

This is about more than maps—it’s about rewriting a narrative.

Sign this petition today to stand with us in calling for more accurate and representative mapping standards. 

Together, we can change how the world views Africa.

Let’s #CorrectTheMap!

Find more information about the #CorrectTheMap campaign: www.correctthemap.org