The Mercator projection enlarges regions near the poles and shrinks equatorial continents, making Greenland appear similar in size to Africa. The Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018, follows the Earth's curvature and presents continents in true proportions, showing that about fourteen Greenlands fit inside Africa. Two advocacy groups launched a campaign to encourage schools, organizations, and media to adopt the Equal Earth projection. The African Union endorsed the campaign, marking a diplomatic milestone. Major map platforms have shifted toward globes or alternatives, but the Mercator projection remains common in classrooms and some mobile map defaults.
On the Mercator projection, one of the world's most popular maps, Greenland and Africa appear to be about the same 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.
The Mercator map was created in the 16th century by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator. Designed to help European navigators at sea, the map distorted landmasses by enlarging regions near the poles such as North America and Greenland while shrinking Africa and South America. The 2018 Equal Earth projection is a modern map that follows the Earth's curvature and shows continents in their true proportions, unlike the distorted Mercator map. The Mercator projection is still common in classrooms and tech platforms.
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