Costa Rica vs Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is 40% larger than Costa Rica.
Costa RicaSierra LeoneCosta Rica moved onto Sierra Leone · Equal-area projection
0.71×
Costa Rica is 0.71× the area of Sierra Leone. Put the other way, Sierra Leone is 1.4× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Sierra Leone | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 71,740 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 8,819,794 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 123 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Freetown |
| Region | Central America | Western Africa |
| 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; Sierra Leone at 9° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 Sierra Leone?
- No. Costa Rica is 29% smaller than Sierra Leone. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Sierra Leone covers 71,740 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Sierra Leone?
- About 1.4 times: Sierra Leone has 1.4× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Sierra Leone 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 Sierra Leone about 1.02×. 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 Sierra Leone?
- Sierra Leone: 8,819,794 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Sierra Leone 123 per km².