Both maps below show Mongolia highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Mongolia about 2.1× at 47°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 1,564,116 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 2.1× inflation is why Mongolia dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Mongolia on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Mongolia: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Mongolia | 1,564,116 km² | 3,357,375 km² | 2.1× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Mongolia at about 3,357,375 km². The truth is 1,564,116 km², a difference of 115% that school atlases carried for centuries.