Both maps below show Pitcairn Islands highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Pitcairn Islands about 1.2× at 24°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 47 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.2× inflation is why Pitcairn Islands dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Pitcairn Islands on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Pitcairn Islands: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Pitcairn Islands | 47 km² | 57 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 Pitcairn Islands at about 57 km². The truth is 47 km², a difference of 21% that school atlases carried for centuries.