Both maps below show Kyrgyzstan highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Kyrgyzstan about 1.8× at 42°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 199,949 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.8× inflation is why Kyrgyzstan dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Kyrgyzstan on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Kyrgyzstan: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Kyrgyzstan | 199,949 km² | 356,169 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 Kyrgyzstan at about 356,169 km². The truth is 199,949 km², a difference of 78% that school atlases carried for centuries.