Both maps below show Luxembourg highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Luxembourg about 2.4× at 50°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 2,586 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 2.4× inflation is why Luxembourg dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Luxembourg on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Luxembourg: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Luxembourg | 2,586 km² | 6,199 km² | 2.4× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Luxembourg at about 6,199 km². The truth is 2,586 km², a difference of 140% that school atlases carried for centuries.