South Georgia and the Islands: old map vs new map

Both maps below show South Georgia and the Islands highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates South Georgia and the Islands about 3× at 54°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 3,903 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.

That 3× inflation is why South Georgia and the Islands dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover South Georgia and the Islands on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.

South Georgia and the Islands: key figures

	True area	On the old Mercator map	Distortion vs truth
South Georgia and the Islands	3,903 km²	11,554 km²	3×
Greenland	2,166,086 km²	25,576,494 km²	11.8×
Africa	30,370,000 km²	n/a	n/a

Old maps drew South Georgia and the Islands at about 11,554 km². The truth is 3,903 km², a difference of 196% that school atlases carried for centuries.

South America on the old map vs the new map →South Georgia and the Islands country page: true area, rank and comparisons →The old world map vs the new world map →