Cameroon vs Costa Rica

Cameroon is 9.29 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Cameroon about 9.3 times.

CameroonCosta RicaCameroon moved onto Costa Rica · Equal-area projection
9.29×
Cameroon is 9.29× the area of Costa Rica.
CameroonCosta Rica
Area475,442 km²51,180 km²
Population29,879,3375,152,950
Density63 / km²101 / km²
CapitalYaoundeSan Jose
RegionMiddle AfricaCentral America
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours62

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Cameroon sits at about 6°N and is stretched to 1.01× 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 Cameroon bigger than Costa Rica?
Yes. Cameroon is 9.29 times larger than Costa Rica. Cameroon covers 475,442 km² and Costa Rica covers 51,180 km².
How many times does Costa Rica fit into Cameroon?
About 9.3 times: Cameroon has 9.29× the area of Costa Rica.
Why do Cameroon and Costa Rica look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Cameroon is drawn about 1.01× 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, Cameroon or Costa Rica?
Cameroon: 29,879,337 people against 5,152,950. Density: Cameroon 63 per km², Costa Rica 101 per km².