Both maps below show Algeria highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Algeria about 1.3× at 28°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 2,381,741 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.3× inflation is why Algeria dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Algeria on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Algeria: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Algeria | 2,381,741 km² | 3,058,155 km² | 1.3× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Algeria at about 3,058,155 km². The truth is 2,381,741 km², a difference of 28% that school atlases carried for centuries.