At true size, Africa is about 14.1× the size of Greenland. On the old 1569 Mercator map the same two appear about 1.2× apart — the old map exaggerates their difference by a factor of 11.8×.
It is a latitude illusion: Africa sits near 10°, where Mercator multiplies area by about 1×, while Greenland lies near 73°, inflated only about 11.8×. Equal Earth removes that latitude tax, and the pair settles at its honest 14.1×.