Both maps below show Belgium highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Belgium about 2.5× at 51°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 30,528 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 2.5× inflation is why Belgium dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Belgium on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Belgium: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Belgium | 30,528 km² | 75,899 km² | 2.5× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Belgium at about 75,899 km². The truth is 30,528 km², a difference of 149% that school atlases carried for centuries.