Both maps below show Lithuania highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Lithuania about 3.1× at 55°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 65,286 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 3.1× inflation is why Lithuania dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Lithuania on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Lithuania: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Lithuania | 65,286 km² | 201,695 km² | 3.1× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Lithuania at about 201,695 km². The truth is 65,286 km², a difference of 209% that school atlases carried for centuries.