Campaign for world map accuracy gains momentum

On the Mercator projection, one of the world’s most popular maps, Greenland and Africa appear to be about the same size.

- BY MARK BANCHEREAU

SOLDIERS check a site. Advocates push for maps that show Africa's true size.

But on the Equal Earth projection showing continents in their true proportions, 14 Greenlands would easily fit inside the African continent.

Criticism that the Mercator projection does not accurately reflect Africa’s real size is not new.

However, a recent campaign by African advocacy groups is gaining momentum online as it urges organizations and schools to adopt the Equal Earth projection, which they say more accurately displays the size of the continent of more than 1.4 billion people.

The African Union, the continent's diplomatic organization with 55 member countries, endorsed the campaign last week in what advocates call a major milestone.

Here is what to know about the effort to show Africa’s real size to the world.

Africa too small on most modern maps