Both maps below show Spain highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Spain about 1.7× at 40°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 505,370 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.7× inflation is why Spain dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Spain on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Spain: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Spain | 505,370 km² | 866,457 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 Spain at about 866,457 km². The truth is 505,370 km², a difference of 71% that school atlases carried for centuries.