Did you know Africa looks much smaller on the maps than it really is?

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Have you ever wondered if the size of countries on maps is the actual one in comparison with other nations? Would you believe me if I tell you that all the countries in the above image are about the same size as the African continent? Well...the answer is YES, they do fit in. I would have said everything is perfectly arranged, but I have recently discovered that other aspects seemed to be more relevant in this respect.

First of all, I have to say that the map template we use now is an old one, that of cartographer Geert de Kremer, better known as Mercator, which dates since 1569 and which shows Africa as being smaller than it is

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By using this tool, the size of the continents appears distorted with the West looking bigger than the East. While Africa is smaller on the Mercator map, Canada, Russia, the United States, and Europe are consistently bigger.

There is the largest distortion near the poles, which makes Greenland similar in size to Africa even though it is about the size of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But why it is like that?

There is no accident but the fact that the system would provide more space for cartographers to mark towns or roads in Western countries. There is no secret that there is not enough space on the map to include all, but Africa has also streets and towns to consider, a thing that wasn't that relevant for cartographers from other regions.

Therefore, it opens a bridge of inequalities making some countries look artificially powerful and intimidating than others. So, we might be entitled to think that Russia, by looking huge on the map, is also dangerous as compared with the rest of the European countries.

Although it doesn't exist any perfect map, we can still reflect on these-supposed tiny differences that can add a lot of damage to the identity of the different nations.

For further information you can also consult the following articles:
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