The Mercator world map, long a fixture in classrooms globally, makes the European Union appear almost as large as Africa. In reality, Africa is more than seven times bigger.

The African Union endorsed a map that reflects the truer relative size of the continent. (map public domain via Equal Earth) Already a member? Sign in here. We rely on readers like you to fund our ...

For over five centuries, a single version of the world map has shaped our perception of geography. The Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, was originally ...