By Maria Cooper
Map source: Kai Krause
The most commonly-used world map is significantly distorted. It follows the Mercator projection: widely used since the 16th century, this projection enlarges areas closer to the poles, whilst shrinking regions near the equator. Africa, situated largely around the equator, appears much smaller than its true scale. In fact, Greenland looks much the same size as Africa on this map: in reality, it is 14 times smaller!
In 2010, graphic designer Kai Krause caused a stir with his map titled “The True Size of Africa”. This map dramatically reveals just how large Africa truly is, offering a powerful perspective shift that challenges conventional geography. Africa is the second largest continent, with a landmass of 11.7 million square miles (30.37 million square kilometres). When appropriately scaled, Africa is astonishingly vast. You could comfortably fit the entirety of the United States, China, India, Japan, and most European countries within its borders, and still have room to spare. Such visualizations help correct misconceptions and underline Africa’s geographical significance. It is worth noting that Krause’s map should be interpreted as more of a symbolic image rather than an accurate representation: he has used the shapes of the countries from the Mercator projection, but simply scaled up the outline of Africa. In reality, an “accurate” version of this map would look very different, but that would defeat the simple graphical depiction Krause was trying to convey: Africa is much, much more immense than most of us realise.
This striking visual raises the question: why do we use the Mercator projection at all? In 1569, Gerardus Mercator, a great cartographer, created his map based on a cylindrical projection. The purpose of this map was nautical navigation, since every line on the sphere is a constant course (or loxodrome). The Mercator projection map thus rose to prominence, but most of us aren’t using paper maps to find our way across the ocean anymore. Critics of the Mercator projection argue the continued use of this popular map is warping users’ sense of the true size of countries, especially that of the African continent. Europe and North America appear much larger than their true scale: Canada and Russia appear to take up ~25% of the globe’s surface, but in reality they only occupy 5%.
Maps deeply influence our perception of importance, significance, and value. From a young age, people across the world are exposed to the Mercator map. Misrepresenting Africa’s size can subtly perpetuate misunderstandings about its global significance, economic potential, resource abundance, and cultural diversity. By accurately visualizing its immense scale, we challenge outdated perspectives, encourage more informed thinking, and promote a more respectful and equitable global understanding. Recognizing Africa’s true size isn’t just geographical clarity, it’s about reshaping narratives, confronting biases, and acknowledging the continent’s rightful importance on the world stage.
Sources:
Abee, M.D. (2019) “The Mercator Projection: Its Uses, Misuses, and Its Association with Scientific Information and the Rise of Scientific Societies.” The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
G.D. (2010, November 10) “The true true size of Africa.” The Economist. https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2010/11/10/the-true-true-size-of-africa.
Infographic Website (2024, December 13) “True Size of Africa Infographic: Discover Its Vastness.” Infographic Website, Education. https://infographicsite.com/infographic/true-size-of-africa-infographic/.
Routley, N. (2021, August 12) “Mercator Misconceptions: Clever Map Shows the True Size of Countries.” Visual Capitalist. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mercator-map-true-size-of-countries/.