Both maps below show Bhutan highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Bhutan about 1.3× at 27°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 38,394 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.3× inflation is why Bhutan dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Bhutan on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Bhutan: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Bhutan | 38,394 km² | 48,722 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 Bhutan at about 48,722 km². The truth is 38,394 km², a difference of 27% that school atlases carried for centuries.