Both maps below show Lesotho highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Lesotho about 1.3× at 30°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 30,355 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.3× inflation is why Lesotho dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Lesotho on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Lesotho: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Lesotho | 30,355 km² | 40,135 km² | 1.3× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Lesotho at about 40,135 km². The truth is 30,355 km², a difference of 32% that school atlases carried for centuries.