Both maps below show Bulgaria highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Bulgaria about 1.9× at 43°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 110,879 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.9× inflation is why Bulgaria dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Bulgaria on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Bulgaria: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Bulgaria | 110,879 km² | 205,769 km² | 1.9× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Bulgaria at about 205,769 km². The truth is 110,879 km², a difference of 86% that school atlases carried for centuries.