Both maps below show India highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates India about 1.2× at 23°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 3,287,263 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.2× inflation is why India dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover India on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
India: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| India | 3,287,263 km² | 3,866,807 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 India at about 3,866,807 km². The truth is 3,287,263 km², a difference of 18% that school atlases carried for centuries.