Both maps below show Eswatini highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Eswatini about 1.2× at 27°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 17,363 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.2× inflation is why Eswatini dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Eswatini on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Eswatini: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Eswatini | 17,363 km² | 21,700 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 Eswatini at about 21,700 km². The truth is 17,363 km², a difference of 25% that school atlases carried for centuries.