Costa Rica vs Cuba
Cuba is 2.15 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Cuba about 2.1 times.
Costa RicaCubaCosta Rica moved onto Cuba · Equal-area projection
0.47×
Costa Rica is 0.47× the area of Cuba. Put the other way, Cuba is 2.15× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Cuba | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 109,884 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 10,937,203 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 100 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Havana |
| Region | Central America | Caribbean |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 0 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Costa Rica sits at about 10°N and is stretched to 1.03× its true area; Cuba at 22° N is stretched to 1.16×. 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 Costa Rica bigger than Cuba?
- No. Costa Rica is 2.15 times smaller than Cuba. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Cuba covers 109,884 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Cuba?
- About 2.1 times: Cuba has 2.15× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Cuba look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Costa Rica is drawn about 1.03× its true area there and Cuba about 1.16×. 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, Costa Rica or Cuba?
- Cuba: 10,937,203 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Cuba 100 per km².