Both maps below show Iceland highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Iceland about 5.6× at 65°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 103,000 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 5.6× inflation is why Iceland dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Iceland on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Iceland: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Iceland | 103,000 km² | 576,594 km² | 5.6× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Iceland at about 576,594 km². The truth is 103,000 km², a difference of 460% that school atlases carried for centuries.