Costa Rica vs Iceland
Iceland is 2.01 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Iceland about 2.0 times.
Costa RicaIcelandCosta Rica moved onto Iceland · Equal-area projection
0.5×
Costa Rica is 0.5× the area of Iceland. Put the other way, Iceland is 2.01× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Iceland | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 103,004 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 392,404 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 3.8 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Reykjavik |
| Region | Central America | Northern Europe |
| 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; Iceland at 65° N is stretched to 5.6×. That difference is why Iceland 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 Iceland?
- No. Costa Rica is 2.01 times smaller than Iceland. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Iceland covers 103,004 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Iceland?
- About 2.0 times: Iceland has 2.01× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Iceland 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 Iceland about 5.6×. That is why Iceland 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 Iceland?
- Costa Rica: 5,152,950 people against 392,404. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Iceland 3.8 per km².