Chagos Islands vs Costa Rica

Costa Rica is 853 times larger than Chagos Islands. Chagos Islands would fit into Costa Rica about 853 times.

Chagos IslandsCosta RicaChagos Islands moved onto Costa Rica · Equal-area projection
0.0×
Chagos Islands is 0.0× the area of Costa Rica. Put the other way, Costa Rica is 853× the size of Chagos Islands.
Chagos IslandsCosta Rica
Area60 km²51,180 km²
Population3,0005,152,950
Density50 / km²101 / km²
CapitalDiego GarciaSan Jose
RegionSeven seas (open ocean)Central America
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours02

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Chagos Islands sits at about 7°S and is stretched to 1.02× 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 Chagos Islands bigger than Costa Rica?
No. Chagos Islands is 853 times smaller than Costa Rica. Chagos Islands covers 60 km² and Costa Rica covers 51,180 km².
How many times does Chagos Islands fit into Costa Rica?
About 853 times: Costa Rica has 853× the area of Chagos Islands.
Why do Chagos Islands and Costa Rica look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Chagos Islands is drawn about 1.02× 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, Chagos Islands or Costa Rica?
Costa Rica: 5,152,950 people against 3,000. Density: Chagos Islands 50 per km², Costa Rica 101 per km².