Both maps below show Iran highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Iran about 1.4× at 33°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 1,648,195 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.4× inflation is why Iran dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Iran on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Iran: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Iran | 1,648,195 km² | 2,318,516 km² | 1.4× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Iran at about 2,318,516 km². The truth is 1,648,195 km², a difference of 41% that school atlases carried for centuries.