Costa Rica vs Iran

Iran is 32.2 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Iran about 32 times.

Costa RicaIranCosta Rica moved onto Iran · Equal-area projection
0.03×
Costa Rica is 0.03× the area of Iran. Put the other way, Iran is 32.2× the size of Costa Rica.
Costa RicaIran
Area51,180 km²1,648,195 km²
Population5,152,95092,417,681
Density101 / km²56 / km²
CapitalSan JoseTehran
RegionCentral AmericaSouthern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours27

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; Iran at 33° N is stretched to 1.41×. 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 Iran?
No. Costa Rica is 32.2 times smaller than Iran. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Iran covers 1,648,195 km².
How many times does Costa Rica fit into Iran?
About 32 times: Iran has 32.2× the area of Costa Rica.
Why do Costa Rica and Iran 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 Iran about 1.41×. 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 Iran?
Iran: 92,417,681 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Iran 56 per km².