Saudi Arabia: old map vs new map

Both maps below show Saudi Arabia highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Saudi Arabia about 1.2× at 24°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 2,149,690 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.

That 1.2× inflation is why Saudi Arabia dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Saudi Arabia on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.

Saudi Arabia: key figures

	True area	On the old Mercator map	Distortion vs truth
Saudi Arabia	2,149,690 km²	2,579,198 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 Saudi Arabia at about 2,579,198 km². The truth is 2,149,690 km², a difference of 20% that school atlases carried for centuries.

Saudi Arabia vs Greenland: old map vs new map →Asia on the old map vs the new map →Saudi Arabia country page: true area, rank and comparisons →The old world map vs the new world map →