Costa Rica vs Syria

Syria is 3.62 times larger than Costa Rica. Costa Rica would fit into Syria about 3.6 times.

Costa RicaSyriaCosta Rica moved onto Syria · Equal-area projection
0.28×
Costa Rica is 0.28× the area of Syria. Put the other way, Syria is 3.62× the size of Costa Rica.
Costa RicaSyria
Area51,180 km²185,180 km²
Population5,152,95025,620,427
Density101 / km²138 / km²
CapitalSan JoseDamascus
RegionCentral AmericaWestern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours25

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; Syria at 35° N is stretched to 1.49×. 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 Syria?
No. Costa Rica is 3.62 times smaller than Syria. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Syria covers 185,180 km².
How many times does Costa Rica fit into Syria?
About 3.6 times: Syria has 3.62× the area of Costa Rica.
Why do Costa Rica and Syria 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 Syria about 1.49×. 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 Syria?
Syria: 25,620,427 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Syria 138 per km².