Costa Rica vs Nicaragua
Nicaragua is 2.35 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Nicaragua about 2.4 times.
Costa RicaNicaraguaCosta Rica moved onto Nicaragua · Equal-area projection
0.43×
Costa Rica is 0.43× the area of Nicaragua. Put the other way, Nicaragua is 2.35× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Nicaragua | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 120,340 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 7,007,502 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 58 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Managua |
| Region | Central America | Central America |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 2 |
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; Nicaragua at 13° N is stretched to 1.05×. 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 Nicaragua?
- No. Costa Rica is 2.35 times smaller than Nicaragua. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Nicaragua covers 120,340 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Nicaragua?
- About 2.4 times: Nicaragua has 2.35× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Nicaragua 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 Nicaragua about 1.05×. 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 Nicaragua?
- Nicaragua: 7,007,502 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Nicaragua 58 per km².