Both maps below show Albania highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Albania about 1.8× at 41°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 28,748 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.8× inflation is why Albania dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Albania on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Albania: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Albania | 28,748 km² | 50,680 km² | 1.8× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Albania at about 50,680 km². The truth is 28,748 km², a difference of 76% that school atlases carried for centuries.