Carlos Lopes & Selma Malika Haddadi explain how centuries of misrepresenting the continent’s scale have affected its global standing.
Culture
May 19, 2026
Carlos Lopes
and Selma Malika Haddadi
For centuries, the Mercator map has distorted Africa’s size, shaping perceptions of the continent's strategic significance and economic prospects. Adopting more accurate map projections is neither technically complex nor prohibitively expensive, yet the symbolic and material consequences could be profound.
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