Costa Rica vs Spain
Spain is 9.89 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Spain about 9.9 times.
Costa RicaSpainCosta Rica moved onto Spain · Equal-area projection
0.1×
Costa Rica is 0.1× the area of Spain. Put the other way, Spain is 9.89× the size of Costa Rica.
| Costa Rica | Spain | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 505,990 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 49,355,143 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 98 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Madrid |
| Region | Central America | Southern Europe |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 3 |
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; Spain at 40° N is stretched to 1.71×. That difference is why Spain 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 Spain?
- No. Costa Rica is 9.89 times smaller than Spain. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Spain covers 505,990 km².
- How many times does Costa Rica fit into Spain?
- About 9.9 times: Spain has 9.89× the area of Costa Rica.
- Why do Costa Rica and Spain 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 Spain about 1.71×. That is why Spain 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 Spain?
- Spain: 49,355,143 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Spain 98 per km².