Costa Rica vs Estonia
Costa Rica is 13% larger than Estonia.
Costa RicaEstoniaCosta Rica moved onto Estonia · Equal-area projection
1.13×
Costa Rica is 1.13× the area of Estonia.
 Costa Rica |  Estonia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaCosta Rica: 1.13× the area | 51,180 km²#126 of 194 | 45,335 km²#129 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationCosta Rica: 3.77× the population | 5,152,950#125 of 194 · 2025 | 1,366,475#154 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityCosta Rica: 3.34× the density | 101 / km²#88 of 194 | 30 / km²#151 of 194 |
| Urban populationCosta Rica: 1.13× the urban share | 80%#43 of 192 · 2025 | 71%#70 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateCosta Rica: 1.12× the births per woman | 1.32 per woman#168 of 192 · 2024 | 1.18 per woman#179 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthCosta Rica: 0.88 points higher | +0.45%#133 of 192 · 2025 | −0.43%#178 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateCosta Rica: 1.41× the birth rate | 10.0 per 1,000#140 of 192 · 2024 | 7.1 per 1,000#179 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateEstonia: 2.05× the death rate | 5.6 per 1,000#154 of 192 · 2024 | 11.5 per 1,000#21 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Costa Rica: 3.0 points higher | 18.3%#124 of 192 · 2025 | 15.3%#159 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Estonia: 9.0 points higher | 12.8%#63 of 192 · 2025 | 21.8%#16 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationCosta Rica: 10.0 per 1,000 higher | +0.2 per 1,000#68 of 192 · 2025 | −9.8 per 1,000#181 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadCosta Rica: 1.17× the refugees for its size | 0.07 per 1,000#126 of 190 · 2025 | 0.06 per 1,000#129 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyCosta Rica: 1.7 years longer | 81.0 years#38 of 192 · 2024 | 79.3 years#44 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityCosta Rica: 6.07× the infant mortality | 9.1 per 1,000 births#115 of 191 · 2024 | 1.5 per 1,000 births#190 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsEstonia: 1.29× the doctors per person | 2.69 per 1,000#68 of 178 · 2022 | 3.47 per 1,000#46 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 65.7%#52 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexEstonia: 0.072 higher | 0.833#61 of 190 · 2023 | 0.905#35 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaEstonia: 1.8× the income per person | $17,930#59 of 185 · 2025 | $32,310#37 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPCosta Rica: 2.19× the economy | $102.91B2025 | $47.03B2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Estonia: 1.54× the output per person | $33,815#65 of 184 · 2025 | $52,106#41 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthCosta Rica: 4.0 points higher | +4.6%#51 of 187 · 2025 | +0.6%#164 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationEstonia: 4.9 points higher | −0.1%#164 of 176 · 2025 | +4.8%#43 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentEstonia: 1.22× the unemployment | 6.8%#60 of 178 · 2025 | 8.3%#48 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyCosta Rica: 2.67× the share in extreme poverty | 0.8%#92 of 149 · 2025 | 0.3%#116 of 149 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Costa Rica: 14.8 higher | 45.5#14 of 149 · 2025 | 30.7#112 of 149 · 2023 |
| Jobs in agricultureCosta Rica: 8.5 points higher | 11.5% of jobs#103 of 178 · 2025 | 3.0% of jobs#147 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryEstonia: 7.5 points higher | 18.5% of jobs#98 of 178 · 2025 | 26.0% of jobs#35 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesEstonia: 1.0 points higher | 70.0% of jobs#52 of 178 · 2025 | 71.0% of jobs#50 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentCosta Rica: 7.6 points higher | 5.4% of GDP#34 of 184 · 2025 | -2.2% of GDP#176 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsEstonia: 39.6 points higher | 38.8% of GDP#77 of 168 · 2025 | 78.4% of GDP#15 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | 0.0% of GDP#153 of 155 · 2025 | 3.4% of GDP#20 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersEstonia: 1.06× the share online | 87%#72 of 184 · 2024 | 92%#42 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsEstonia: 1.11× the mobile subscriptions | 136 per 100#42 of 191 · 2024 | 151 per 100#27 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaCosta Rica: 1.03× the forest share | 59% of land#28 of 192 · 2024 | 57% of land#35 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personEstonia: 4.76× the CO₂ per person | 1.63 t a year#110 of 185 · 2024 | 7.76 t a year#26 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyEstonia: 3.8 points higher | 34.2%#72 of 190 · 2021 | 38.0%#64 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityEstonia: 0.2 points higher | 99.8%#103 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Costa Rica: 3.0× the air pollution | 17.7 µg/m³#99 of 191 · 2023 | 5.9 µg/m³#179 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landCosta Rica: 5.0 points higher | 26.6% of land#49 of 191 · 2025 | 21.6% of land#73 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landEstonia: 13.2 points higher | 3.3% of land#146 of 190 · 2024 | 16.5% of land#65 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressEstonia: 2.2× the water stress | 5.9%#112 of 176 · 2022 | 13.0%#79 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationCosta Rica: 4.67× the rain and snow | 2,926 mm#6 of 180 · 2022 | 626 mm#126 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityCosta Rica: 0.33 higher | +1.22#19 of 193 · 2025 | +0.89#43 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionEstonia: 0.95 higher | +0.69#46 of 193 · 2025 | +1.64#14 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateCosta Rica: 11.8× the homicide rate | 17.7 per 100,000#19 of 146 · 2023 | 1.5 per 100,000#86 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Parliamentary republic |
| Member of | OECD | EU, NATO, Euro area, Schengen Area, OECD |
| Capital | San Jose | Tallinn |
| Currency | Costa Rican colón (CRC) | Euro (EUR) |
| Official languages | Spanish | Estonian |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−6 | UTC+2, summer time UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +506 | +372 |
| Region | Central America, North America | Northern Europe, Europe |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
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; Estonia at 59° N is stretched to 3.7×. That difference is why Estonia looks so much bigger than it is next to Costa Rica. 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 Estonia?
- Yes. Costa Rica is 13% larger than Estonia. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Estonia covers 45,335 km².
- How many times does Estonia fit into Costa Rica?
- About 1.1 times: Costa Rica has 1.13× the area of Estonia.
- Why do Costa Rica and Estonia 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 Estonia about 3.7×. That is why Estonia looks so much bigger than it really is next to Costa Rica. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Costa Rica or Estonia?
- Costa Rica: 5,152,950 people against 1,366,475. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Estonia 30 per km².
- Which is richer, Costa Rica or Estonia?
- By gross national income per person, Estonia: $32,310 against $17,930 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.8× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Costa Rica or Estonia?
- In Costa Rica: life expectancy at birth is 81.0 years, against 79.3 — 1.7 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Costa Rica and Estonia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Costa Rica: presidential republic; Estonia: parliamentary republic.