Africa is bigger than you think. But does size matter?
A new world map restores Africa to its true proportions. But geography is not destiny: the continent’s real challenge is to turn its enormous physical scale into economic scale.
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The Equal Earth projection accurately reflects the relative sizes of countries and continents.
ILLUSTRATION: EQUAL EARTH
After years of campaigning, African countries led by Togo and backed by the African Union won an unusual victory at the UN recently: the General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed the use of map projections that show continents in their correct relative proportions.
The resolution passed by 164 votes to one, with only the US voting against and six countries abstaining. It is non-binding, but it challenges something most of us have taken for granted: our mental picture of the world. And that picture dramatically shrinks the relative size of Africa.