Falkland Islands: old map vs new map

Both maps below show Falkland Islands highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Falkland Islands about 2.6× at 52°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 12,173 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.

That 2.6× inflation is why Falkland Islands dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Falkland Islands on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.

Falkland Islands: key figures

	True area	On the old Mercator map	Distortion vs truth
Falkland Islands	12,173 km²	31,756 km²	2.6×
Greenland	2,166,086 km²	25,576,494 km²	11.8×
Africa	30,370,000 km²	n/a	n/a

Old maps drew Falkland Islands at about 31,756 km². The truth is 12,173 km², a difference of 161% that school atlases carried for centuries.

South America on the old map vs the new map →Falkland Islands country page: true area, rank and comparisons →The old world map vs the new world map →