Costa Rica vs Vanuatu
Costa Rica is 4.2 times larger than Vanuatu. Vanuatu would fit into Costa Rica about 4.2 times.
Costa RicaVanuatuCosta Rica moved onto Vanuatu · Equal-area projection
4.2×
Costa Rica is 4.2× the area of Vanuatu.
| Costa Rica | Vanuatu | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,180 km² | 12,190 km² |
| Population | 5,152,950 | 335,169 |
| Density | 101 / km² | 27 / km² |
| Capital | San Jose | Port-Vila |
| Region | Central America | Melanesia |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 0 |
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; Vanuatu at 16° S is stretched to 1.08×. 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 Vanuatu?
- Yes. Costa Rica is 4.2 times larger than Vanuatu. Costa Rica covers 51,180 km² and Vanuatu covers 12,190 km².
- How many times does Vanuatu fit into Costa Rica?
- About 4.2 times: Costa Rica has 4.2× the area of Vanuatu.
- Why do Costa Rica and Vanuatu 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 Vanuatu about 1.08×. 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 Vanuatu?
- Costa Rica: 5,152,950 people against 335,169. Density: Costa Rica 101 per km², Vanuatu 27 per km².