Costa Rica vs Libya
Libya is 34.4 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Libya about 34 times.
Costa RicaLibyaCosta Rica moved onto Libya · Equal-area projection
0.03×
Costa Rica is 0.03× the area of Libya. Put the other way, Libya is 34.4× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Libya | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 1,759,541 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 7,458,555 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 4.2 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Tripoli |
| Region | Central America | Northern Africa |
| 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; Libya at 27° N is stretched to 1.26×. 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 Libya?
- No. Costa Rica is 34.4 times smaller than Libya. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Libya covers 1,759,541 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Libya?
- About 34 times: Libya has 34.4× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Libya 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 Libya about 1.26×. 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 Libya?
- Libya: 7,458,555 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Libya 4.2 per km².