Bhutan vs Costa Rica
Costa Rica is 33% larger than Bhutan.
BhutanCosta RicaBhutan moved onto Costa Rica · Equal-area projection
0.75×
Bhutan is 0.75× the area of Costa Rica. Put the other way, Costa Rica is 1.33× the size of Bhutan.
| Bhutan | Costa Rica | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 38,394 km² | 51,180 km² |
| Population | 796,682 | 5,152,950 |
| Density | 21 / km² | 101 / km² |
| Capital | Thimphu | San Jose |
| Region | Southern Asia | Central America |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 2 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Bhutan sits at about 27°N and is stretched to 1.27× its true area; Costa Rica at 10° N is stretched to 1.03×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Bhutan bigger than Costa Rica?
- No. Bhutan is 25% smaller than Costa Rica. Bhutan covers 38,394 km² and Costa Rica covers 51,180 km².
- How many times does Bhutan fit into Costa Rica?
- About 1.3 times: Costa Rica has 1.33× the area of Bhutan.
- Why do Bhutan and Costa Rica look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Bhutan is drawn about 1.27× its true area there and Costa Rica about 1.03×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Bhutan or Costa Rica?
- Costa Rica: 5,152,950 people against 796,682. Density: Bhutan 21 per km², Costa Rica 101 per km².