What is the True Size of Africa?

For centuries, the world has looked at Africa through a distorted lens, quite literally. The maps most of us grew up with painted an image of Africa that was far smaller than its reality, shaping perceptions in ways that extend beyond geography.

The Problem With Maps

The culprit behind this distortion is the Mercator projection, a map design created in the 16th century by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator. 

At the time, it was revolutionary for navigation because it made sea routes easier to chart: ships could follow straight compass lines across the map.

But while it worked for sailors, it came with a trade-off, it stretched land masses near the poles and shrank those closer to the equator.

That’s why Greenland, which is just over 2 million square kilometres, often looks as big as Africa, which actually spans more than 30 million square kilometres. In truth, Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland, three times the size of Canada, and even bigger than Russia.

Why It Matters

Maps are not neutral. They shape how people see the world and, by extension, how they see themselves. 

For Africa, being visually downsized for generations has contributed to the false impression that the continent is “smaller” or less significant compared to northern nations.

Selma Malika Haddadi, deputy chair of the African Union Commission, has called it more than a cartographic error, she sees it as a distortion that downplays Africa’s importance on the global stage. 

Similarly, Moky Makura of Africa No Filter has described it as “the world’s longest misinformation campaign.”

A Push to “Correct the Map”

To fix this, advocacy groups and the African Union are pushing for the Equal Earth projection, a modern map design introduced in 2018. Unlike Mercator, it focuses on keeping land areas in proportion, so Africa finally appears at its true scale. 

On this projection, it becomes clear that Africa can comfortably fit the United States, China, India, and most of Europe within its borders.

This campaign, known as “Correct the Map,” is not just about geography, it’s about reclaiming narrative power. A map that shows Africa in its true size helps counter centuries of imbalance in how the world perceives the continent.

Beyond the Classroom

The shift is already happening. The World Bank has phased out Mercator in favour of more accurate projections. Google Maps has also introduced a 3D globe view to give users a truer sense of scale. 

Yet, on many classroom walls and in countless textbooks, the Mercator map still dominates.

This raises an important point: maps are not perfect reflections of reality. Turning a spherical Earth into something flat will always involve some compromise, whether in size, shape, or distance. But which compromises we accept and whose perspectives those distortions benefit are never neutral choices.

Africa’s Scale in Perspective

When visualised correctly, Africa’s size is jaw-dropping. It is the world’s second-largest continent, home to over a billion people, vast resources, and immense cultural diversity. Imagine sliding China, India, the U.S., and most of Europe into Africa’s borders, they all fit, with space to spare. That’s the scale we’ve been overlooking.

What you should know

The debate over Africa’s size is ultimately about more than maps. It is about how the world frames power, importance, and relevance. 

For centuries, Africa has been made to look smaller than it is. Now, with new projections and growing advocacy, the continent’s true scale geographic and symbolic is harder to ignore.