Costa Rica vs Greenland
Greenland is 42.3 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Greenland about 42 times.
Costa RicaGreenlandCosta Rica moved onto Greenland · Equal-area projection
0.02×
Costa Rica is 0.02× the area of Greenland. Put the other way, Greenland is 42.3× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Greenland | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 2,166,086 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 56,831 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 0.03 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Nuuk |
| Region | Central America | Northern America |
| 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; Greenland at 73° N is stretched to 11.8×. That difference is why Greenland 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 Greenland?
- No. Costa Rica is 42.3 times smaller than Greenland. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Greenland covers 2,166,086 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Greenland?
- About 42 times: Greenland has 42.3× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Greenland 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 Greenland about 11.8×. That is why Greenland 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 Greenland?
- Costa Rica: 5,152,950 people against 56,831. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Greenland 0.03 per km².