Costa Rica vs Heard and McDonald Islands
Costa Rica is 139 times larger than Heard and McDonald Islands. Heard and McDonald Islands would fit into Costa Rica about 139 times.
Costa RicaHeard and McDonald IslandsCosta Rica moved onto Heard and McDonald Islands · Equal-area projection
139×
Costa Rica is 139× the area of Heard and McDonald Islands.
| Costa Rica | Heard and McDonald Islands | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 368 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | — |
| Density | 101 / km² | — |
| Capital | San Jose | — |
| Region | Central America | Seven seas (open ocean) |
| 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; Heard and McDonald Islands at 53° S is stretched to 2.77×. That difference is why Heard and McDonald Islands 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 Heard and McDonald Islands?
- Yes. Costa Rica is 139 times larger than Heard and McDonald Islands. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Heard and McDonald Islands covers 368 km².
- How many times does Heard and McDonald Islands fit into Costa Rica?
- About 139 times: Costa Rica has 139× the area of Heard and McDonald Islands.
- Why do Costa Rica and Heard and McDonald Islands 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 Heard and McDonald Islands about 2.77×. That is why Heard and McDonald Islands 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.