Costa Rica vs Mongolia

Mongolia is 30.6 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Mongolia about 31 times.

Costa RicaMongoliaCosta Rica moved onto Mongolia · Equal-area projection
0.03×
Costa Rica is 0.03× the area of Mongolia. Put the other way, Mongolia is 30.6× the size of Costa Rica.
Costa RicaMongolia
Area51,180 km²1,564,116 km²
Population5,152,9503,568,978
Density101 / km²2.3 / km²
CapitalSan JoseUlaanbaatar
RegionCentral AmericaEastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours22

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; Mongolia at 47° N is stretched to 2.15×. That difference is why Mongolia 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 Mongolia?
No. Costa Rica is 30.6 times smaller than Mongolia. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Mongolia covers 1,564,116 km².
How many times does Costa Rica fit into Mongolia?
About 31 times: Mongolia has 30.6× the area of Costa Rica.
Why do Costa Rica and Mongolia 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 Mongolia about 2.15×. That is why Mongolia 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 Mongolia?
Costa Rica: 5,152,950 people against 3,568,978. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Mongolia 2.3 per km².