Costa Rica vs Ireland
Ireland is 36% larger than Costa Rica.
Costa RicaIrelandCosta Rica moved onto Ireland · Equal-area projection
0.73×
Costa Rica is 0.73× the area of Ireland. Put the other way, Ireland is 1.36× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 69,797 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 5,484,367 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 79 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Dublin |
| Region | Central America | Northern Europe |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 1 |
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; Ireland at 53° N is stretched to 2.78×. That difference is why Ireland 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 Ireland?
- No. Costa Rica is 27% smaller than Ireland. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Ireland covers 69,797 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Ireland?
- About 1.4 times: Ireland has 1.36× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Ireland 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 Ireland about 2.78×. That is why Ireland 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 Ireland?
- Ireland: 5,484,367 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Ireland 79 per km².