Costa Rica vs Japan
Japan is 7.39 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Japan about 7.4 times.
Costa RicaJapanCosta Rica moved onto Japan · Equal-area projection
0.14×
Costa Rica is 0.14× the area of Japan. Put the other way, Japan is 7.39× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 377,972 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 123,366,734 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 326 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Tokyo |
| Region | Central America | Eastern Asia |
| 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; Japan at 37° N is stretched to 1.59×. That difference is why Japan 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 Japan?
- No. Costa Rica is 7.39 times smaller than Japan. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Japan covers 377,972 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Japan?
- About 7.4 times: Japan has 7.39× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Japan 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 Japan about 1.59×. That is why Japan 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 Japan?
- Japan: 123,366,734 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Japan 326 per km².