Both maps below show Cyprus highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Cyprus about 1.5× at 35°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 9,251 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.5× inflation is why Cyprus dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Cyprus on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Cyprus: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Cyprus | 9,251 km² | 13,759 km² | 1.5× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Cyprus at about 13,759 km². The truth is 9,251 km², a difference of 49% that school atlases carried for centuries.