Both maps below show United Kingdom highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates United Kingdom about 2.9× at 54°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 244,376 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 2.9× inflation is why United Kingdom dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover United Kingdom on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
United Kingdom: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| United Kingdom | 244,376 km² | 707,713 km² | 2.9× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew United Kingdom at about 707,713 km². The truth is 244,376 km², a difference of 190% that school atlases carried for centuries.