Costa Rica vs Latvia
Latvia is 26% larger than Costa Rica.
Costa RicaLatviaCosta Rica moved onto Latvia · Equal-area projection
0.79×
Costa Rica is 0.79× the area of Latvia. Put the other way, Latvia is 1.26× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Latvia | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 64,594 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 1,847,785 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 29 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Riga |
| Region | Central America | Northern Europe |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 4 |
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; Latvia at 57° N is stretched to 3.35×. That difference is why Latvia 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 Latvia?
- No. Costa Rica is 21% smaller than Latvia. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Latvia covers 64,594 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Latvia?
- About 1.3 times: Latvia has 1.26× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Latvia 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 Latvia about 3.35×. That is why Latvia 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 Latvia?
- Costa Rica: 5,152,950 people against 1,847,785. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Latvia 29 per km².