Both maps below show Paraguay highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Paraguay about 1.2× at 23°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 406,752 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.2× inflation is why Paraguay dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Paraguay on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Paraguay: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Paraguay | 406,752 km² | 481,554 km² | 1.2× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Paraguay at about 481,554 km². The truth is 406,752 km², a difference of 18% that school atlases carried for centuries.