Costa Rica vs French Polynesia
Costa Rica is 12.3 times larger than French Polynesia. French Polynesia would fit into Costa Rica about 12 times.
Costa RicaFrench PolynesiaCosta Rica moved onto French Polynesia · Equal-area projection
12.3×
Costa Rica is 12.3× the area of French Polynesia.
| Costa Rica | French Polynesia | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 4,167 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 282,465 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 68 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Papeete |
| Region | Central America | Polynesia |
| 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; French Polynesia at 15° S is stretched to 1.07×. 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 French Polynesia?
- Yes. Costa Rica is 12.3 times larger than French Polynesia. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and French Polynesia covers 4,167 km².
- How many times does French Polynesia fit into Costa Rica?
- About 12 times: Costa Rica has 12.3× the area of French Polynesia.
- Why do Costa Rica and French Polynesia 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 French Polynesia about 1.07×. 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 French Polynesia?
- Costa Rica: 5,152,950 people against 282,465. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², French Polynesia 68 per km².