Both maps below show Romania highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Romania about 2.1× at 46°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 238,398 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 2.1× inflation is why Romania dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Romania on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Romania: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Romania | 238,398 km² | 491,338 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 Romania at about 491,338 km². The truth is 238,398 km², a difference of 106% that school atlases carried for centuries.