Costa Rica vs Portugal
Portugal is 80% larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Portugal about 1.8 times.
Costa RicaPortugalCosta Rica moved onto Portugal · Equal-area projection
0.55×
Costa Rica is 0.55× the area of Portugal. Put the other way, Portugal is 1.8× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Portugal | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 92,225 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 10,804,871 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 117 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Lisbon |
| Region | Central America | Southern Europe |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 1 |
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; Portugal at 40° N is stretched to 1.68×. That difference is why Portugal 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 Portugal?
- No. Costa Rica is 45% smaller than Portugal. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Portugal covers 92,225 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Portugal?
- About 1.8 times: Portugal has 1.8× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Portugal 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 Portugal about 1.68×. That is why Portugal 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 Portugal?
- Portugal: 10,804,871 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Portugal 117 per km².