Both maps below show Portugal highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Portugal about 1.7× at 40°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 92,090 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.7× inflation is why Portugal dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Portugal on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Portugal: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Portugal | 92,090 km² | 155,144 km² | 1.7× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Portugal at about 155,144 km². The truth is 92,090 km², a difference of 68% that school atlases carried for centuries.