Both maps below show Kosovo highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Kosovo about 1.8× at 43°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 10,887 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.8× inflation is why Kosovo dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Kosovo on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Kosovo: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Kosovo | 10,887 km² | 20,073 km² | 1.8× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Kosovo at about 20,073 km². The truth is 10,887 km², a difference of 84% that school atlases carried for centuries.