Costa Rica vs Guinea-Bissau

Costa Rica is 42% larger than Guinea-Bissau.

Costa RicaGuinea-BissauCosta Rica moved onto Guinea-Bissau · Equal-area projection
1.42×
Costa Rica is 1.42× the area of Guinea-Bissau.
Costa RicaGuinea-Bissau
Area51,180 km²36,125 km²
Population5,152,9502,249,515
Density101 / km²62 / km²
CapitalSan JoseBissau
RegionCentral AmericaWestern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours22

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; Guinea-Bissau at 12° N is stretched to 1.05×. 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 Guinea-Bissau?
Yes. Costa Rica is 42% larger than Guinea-Bissau. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Guinea-Bissau covers 36,125 km².
How many times does Guinea-Bissau fit into Costa Rica?
About 1.4 times: Costa Rica has 1.42× the area of Guinea-Bissau.
Why do Costa Rica and Guinea-Bissau 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 Guinea-Bissau about 1.05×. 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 Guinea-Bissau?
Costa Rica: 5,152,950 people against 2,249,515. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Guinea-Bissau 62 per km².