Costa Rica vs Greece

Greece is 2.58 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Greece about 2.6 times.

Costa RicaGreeceCosta Rica moved onto Greece · Equal-area projection
0.39×
Costa Rica is 0.39× the area of Greece. Put the other way, Greece is 2.58× the size of Costa Rica.
Costa RicaGreece
Area51,180 km²131,957 km²
Population5,152,95010,413,962
Density101 / km²79 / km²
CapitalSan JoseAthens
RegionCentral AmericaSouthern Europe
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours24

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; Greece at 39° N is stretched to 1.66×. That difference is why Greece 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 Greece?
No. Costa Rica is 2.58 times smaller than Greece. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Greece covers 131,957 km².
How many times does Costa Rica fit into Greece?
About 2.6 times: Greece has 2.58× the area of Costa Rica.
Why do Costa Rica and Greece 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 Greece about 1.66×. That is why Greece 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 Greece?
Greece: 10,413,962 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Greece 79 per km².