EQUAL EARTH OP-ED: Scale of justice: Redrawn world map finally reflects Africa’s rightful size

For over four centuries, Africa has been depicted on maps in a smaller size than its true dimensions. This distortion has been a part of educational materials such as wall maps, textbooks, and history lessons, which have often highlighted European explorers who "discovered" African landmarks, giving them European names. The famous example is Queen Victoria naming the waterfall in Africa "Victoria Falls" after herself.

The map projection known as Mercator, used in many school textbooks, enlarged Europe and shrank Africa considerably. This projection was created to help sailors navigate, but the result was a map that falsely represented the continent's true size and importance. On September 4, 2026, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously approved the Equal Earth map projection, a change that had been adopted by the African Union earlier.

The UN voted this way to acknowledge the African continent's rightful size and position on the world map. This decision was seen as a form of cognitive justice and reparations for Africa. While some countries, like the United States, initially opposed the change, the US later admitted to distorting Africa's location in their own maps.

The new map projection aims to correct these historical inaccuracies and provide a more accurate representation of Africa on global maps. This change, while significant, is only one step in addressing the continent's underdevelopment, which is rooted in colonial legacies, trade structures, and weak institutions. Nevertheless, the recognition of Africa's actual size on the world map is a step towards acknowledging Africa's self-determination, educational reform, and dismantling the Eurocentric historical narratives that have long portrayed Africa as a peripheral and smaller part of the world.