Costa Rica vs El Salvador
Costa Rica is 2.43 times larger than El Salvador. El Salvador would fit into Costa Rica about 2.4 times.
Costa RicaEl SalvadorCosta Rica moved onto El Salvador · Equal-area projection
2.43×
Costa Rica is 2.43× the area of El Salvador.
| Costa Rica | El Salvador | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 21,041 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 6,365,503 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 303 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | San Salvador |
| Region | Central America | Central America |
| Coastline | Has a coast | 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. Costa Rica sits at about 10°N and is stretched to 1.03× its true area; El Salvador at 14° N is stretched to 1.06×. 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 El Salvador?
- Yes. Costa Rica is 2.43 times larger than El Salvador. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and El Salvador covers 21,041 km².
- How many times does El Salvador fit into Costa Rica?
- About 2.4 times: Costa Rica has 2.43× the area of El Salvador.
- Why do Costa Rica and El Salvador 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 El Salvador about 1.06×. 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 El Salvador?
- El Salvador: 6,365,503 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², El Salvador 303 per km².