Both maps below show Israel highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Israel about 1.4× at 32°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 21,937 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.4× inflation is why Israel dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Israel on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Israel: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Israel | 21,937 km² | 30,144 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 Israel at about 30,144 km². The truth is 21,937 km², a difference of 37% that school atlases carried for centuries.