African Union Joins Calls To End Use Of Mercator Map That Shrinks Continents Size

Member states back Correct the Map campaign that urges governments and organisations to use more accurate map The African Union has backed a campaign to end the use by governments and international organisations of the 16th-century Mercator map of the world in favour of one that more accurately displays Africas size. Created by the cartographer Gerardus Mercator for navigation, the projection distorts continent sizes, enlarging areas near the poles like North America and Greenland while shrinking Africa and South America. It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not, the African Union Commission deputy chair, Selma Malika Haddadi, told Reuters, saying the Mercator fostered a false impression that Africa was marginal, despite being the worlds second-largest continent by area, with more than 1 billion people. The union has 55 member states.