| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Taiwan | 36,005 km² | 42,846 km² | 1.2× |
| Greenland | 2,154,754 km² | 25,447,645 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | — | 1× |
Old maps drew Taiwan at about 42,846 km² km². The truth is 36,005 km² km² — a difference of 19%% that school atlases carried for centuries.