Costa Rica vs Malawi
Malawi is 2.32 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Malawi about 2.3 times.
Costa RicaMalawiCosta Rica moved onto Malawi · Equal-area projection
0.43×
Costa Rica is 0.43× the area of Malawi. Put the other way, Malawi is 2.32× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Malawi | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 118,484 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 22,216,120 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 188 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Lilongwe |
| Region | Central America | Eastern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Neighbours | 2 | 3 |
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; Malawi at 13° S is stretched to 1.06×. 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 Malawi?
- No. Costa Rica is 2.32 times smaller than Malawi. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Malawi covers 118,484 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Malawi?
- About 2.3 times: Malawi has 2.32× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Malawi 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 Malawi about 1.06×. 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 Malawi?
- Malawi: 22,216,120 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Malawi 188 per km².