Both maps below show United States highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates United States about 2× at 45°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 9,525,067 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 2× inflation is why United States dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover United States on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
United States: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| United States | 9,525,067 km² | 18,881,540 km² | 2× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew United States at about 18,881,540 km². The truth is 9,525,067 km², a difference of 98% that school atlases carried for centuries.