Costa Rica vs Iraq
Iraq is 8.54 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Iraq about 8.5 times.
Costa RicaIraqCosta Rica moved onto Iraq · Equal-area projection
0.12×
Costa Rica is 0.12× the area of Iraq. Put the other way, Iraq is 8.54× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Iraq | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 437,072 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 47,020,774 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 108 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Baghdad |
| Region | Central America | Western Asia |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 6 |
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; Iraq at 33° N is stretched to 1.42×. 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 Iraq?
- No. Costa Rica is 8.54 times smaller than Iraq. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Iraq covers 437,072 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Iraq?
- About 8.5 times: Iraq has 8.54× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Iraq 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 Iraq about 1.42×. 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 Iraq?
- Iraq: 47,020,774 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Iraq 108 per km².