For centuries, the world map most of us are familiar with has been the Mercator projection, a creation from 1569. Originally designed as a tool for nautical navigation, this map has become the standard in classrooms and across the globe. However, the Mercator map presents a significantly distorted view of our world, particularly when it comes to the actual size of Africa in comparison to other continents.
This widely used projection drastically underestimates the landmass of Africa. In reality, Africa spans a colossal 30.37 million square kilometers (11.7 million square miles). The visual misrepresentation on Mercator maps leads to serious misconceptions about the continent’s scale and importance on the global stage.
The Deceptive Mercator Projection
The distortion arises from the Mercator projection’s method of portraying a spherical Earth on a flat surface. Imagine wrapping a piece of paper around a globe in a cylinder shape. This is essentially how the Mercator projection is created. While this cylindrical approach is useful for navigation because it preserves angles and directions, it severely distorts areas, especially as you move further away from the Equator towards the poles.
Because Africa straddles the Equator, its size is relatively less distorted in the Mercator projection compared to continents in higher latitudes. Conversely, regions like Greenland, Europe, and North America, located further from the Equator, appear much larger than they actually are relative to Africa. For example, Greenland is often depicted as being similar in size to Africa on Mercator maps. However, the reality is striking: Africa is approximately 14 times larger than Greenland. In fact, Greenland is smaller than the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a single country within Africa. This distortion significantly inflates the perceived size and consequently, the perceived importance of Europe and North America, while diminishing Africa’s visual presence.
Unpacking the Unfair Map System
The pervasive use of the Mercator projection isn’t merely a cartographical accident. Its historical context is intertwined with Western exploration and colonialism. As Menno-Jan Kraak, president of the International Cartographic Association, explained to CNN, these maps became ingrained in Western perception during the era of the British Empire. They served the practical needs of European powers by allowing for easier navigation and highlighting their territories, but at the cost of geographical accuracy and fairness.
Marianne Franklin, a professor of Global Media and Politics at Goldsmiths, University of London, further emphasizes this point, stating that these maps reinforce a “Anglo-Euro-American presumption that the world belongs to them.” The visual dominance of North America and Europe on these maps, while minimizing Africa, subtly perpetuates a skewed global perspective.
Towards a Fairer Representation: The Equal Earth Map
Recognizing the inherent bias in the Mercator projection, cartographers and scientists have sought more equitable alternatives. While projections like the Robinson projection offered some improvements, the development of the Equal Earth Map marks a significant step towards accuracy and fairness. Created by Tom Patterson, Bojan Šavrič, and Bernhard Jenny, the Equal Earth projection is designed to represent continents in their true proportions without the extreme distortions seen in Mercator.
The Equal Earth Map is an “equal-area pseudocylindrical projection.” This means it prioritizes accurate representation of area over perfect shape or angles, ensuring that each region on the map correctly reflects its actual size relative to others. Its visually pleasing curved sides hint at the Earth’s spherical form, while the straight parallel lines allow for easy comparison of latitudes.
The stark reality is that Africa’s landmass is larger than the combined areas of Europe, the United States, China, India, and Japan. Understanding the actual size of Africa, undistorted by misleading map projections, is crucial for a balanced and accurate global perspective. The shift towards using fairer projections like the Equal Earth Map is essential to rectify historical misrepresentations and promote a more accurate understanding of our world and the true scale of the African continent.
