Costa Rica vs Taiwan

Costa Rica is 41% larger than Taiwan.

Costa RicaTaiwanCosta Rica moved onto Taiwan · Equal-area projection
1.41×
Costa Rica is 1.41× the area of Taiwan.
Costa RicaTaiwan
Area51,180 km²36,193 km²
Population5,152,95023,262,544
Density101 / km²643 / km²
CapitalSan JoseTaipei
RegionCentral AmericaEastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours20

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; Taiwan at 24° N is stretched to 1.19×. 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 Taiwan?
Yes. Costa Rica is 41% larger than Taiwan. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Taiwan covers 36,193 km².
How many times does Taiwan fit into Costa Rica?
About 1.4 times: Costa Rica has 1.41× the area of Taiwan.
Why do Costa Rica and Taiwan 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 Taiwan about 1.19×. 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 Taiwan?
Taiwan: 23,262,544 people against 5,152,950. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Taiwan 643 per km².