Both maps below show Cuba highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Cuba about 1.2× at 22°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 109,884 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.2× inflation is why Cuba dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Cuba on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Cuba: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Cuba | 109,884 km² | 127,180 km² | 1.2× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Cuba at about 127,180 km². The truth is 109,884 km², a difference of 16% that school atlases carried for centuries.