The mapping data in the desktop version of Google Earth is currently a separate database from that in Google Maps. The Mobile version of Google Earth was recently given a complete rewrite and now uses the Google Maps data as its source.
In the past, Google would periodically update the Google Earth mapping data from the Maps database, but as far as we can tell that has not happened for at least a year. This means that the street data in Google Earth is now significantly less accurate than the data in Google Maps. However, the search function in Google Earth appears to use the same search engine as Google Maps. This means that even when a road has not been put into Google Earth, it can still be found via the search function if it exists in Google Maps. An example of this is
Lunga St, Livingstone, Zambia which I added to Google Maps in September using Google Map Maker. If you search for it in Google Earth, it finds it and displays it in the correct location even though it does not show in the ‘roads’ layer.
The same is true for many other features found on Google Maps that are not visible by default in Google Earth. Many business locations added to Google Maps using Google My Business do not show in any layer in Google Earth, but can be found using search.
Another street I named recently is Sichango Road. If you search for ‘Sichango Road’, Google Earth finds it correctly. If you search for ‘Sichango Road, Livingstone, Zambia’, Google Earth says ‘We were not able to locate the address’. If you search for ‘Sichango Rd, Livingstone, Zambia’, it does not find the road itself, but does find some nearby businesses.
Lunga St, Livingstone, Zambia can be found through a search even though it is not in Google Earth’s street data.
