At true size, Greenland is about 0.9× the size of Algeria. On the old 1569 Mercator map the same two appear about 8.6× apart — the old map exaggerates their difference by a factor of 9.2×.
It is a latitude illusion: Greenland sits near 73°, where Mercator multiplies area by about 11.8×, while Algeria lies near 28°, inflated only about 1.3×. Equal Earth removes that latitude tax, and the pair settles at its honest 0.9×.