Costa Rica vs South Korea
South Korea is 96% larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into South Korea about 2.0 times.
Costa RicaSouth KoreaCosta Rica moved onto South Korea · Equal-area projection
0.51×
Costa Rica is 0.51× the area of South Korea. Put the other way, South Korea is 1.96× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | South Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 100,295 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 51,684,564 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 515 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Seoul |
| Region | Central America | Eastern Asia |
| 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; South Korea at 36° N is stretched to 1.54×. That difference is why South Korea 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 South Korea?
- No. Costa Rica is 49% smaller than South Korea. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and South Korea covers 100,295 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into South Korea?
- About 2.0 times: South Korea has 1.96× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and South Korea 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 South Korea about 1.54×. That is why South Korea 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 South Korea?
- South Korea: 51,684,564 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², South Korea 515 per km².