Both maps below show Belarus highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Belarus about 2.8× at 54°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 207,600 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 2.8× inflation is why Belarus dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Belarus on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Belarus: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Belarus | 207,600 km² | 587,280 km² | 2.8× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Belarus at about 587,280 km². The truth is 207,600 km², a difference of 183% that school atlases carried for centuries.