United Kingdom is 4.77× the size of Costa Rica

United Kingdom covers about 244,000 km² (94,100 mi²) and Costa Rica about 51,200 km² (19,700 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

244,000km²United Kingdom
51,200km²Costa Rica

200 km

United Kingdom
Costa Rica

What fits

Costa Rica fits inside United Kingdom about 4.77 times by area.
United Kingdom is larger by 193,000 km² (74,400 mi²), which is 377% of the area of Costa Rica.
Measured in Belgiums: United Kingdom is about 7.95, Costa Rica about 1.67.

How they differ

United Kingdom also has the larger population: 67.3 million against 5.3 million, 12.8× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 276 in United Kingdom against 103 in Costa Rica: United Kingdom is 2.68× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 8,550 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: United Kingdom at 54°N is drawn about 2.9× too large and Costa Rica at 10°N about 1.0×, so the map shows United Kingdom as 13.4× the size of Costa Rica instead of 4.77×.
Together United Kingdom and Costa Rica cover 295,000 km², close to the size of Philippines (293,000 km², 0.6% smaller).
The gap between them, 193,000 km², is about the size of Senegal (196,000 km²).
At Costa Rica's density, United Kingdom would have 25.1 million people (it has 67.3 million). At United Kingdom's density, Costa Rica would have 14.1 million (it has 5.3 million).
United Kingdom's centre is 44.1° of latitude, about 4,900 km, farther north than Costa Rica's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	United Kingdom	4.77×
More people	United Kingdom	12.8×
More crowded	United Kingdom	2.68×
Farther north	United Kingdom	44.1° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	United Kingdom	2.9× against 1.0×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	United Kingdom	Costa Rica
Belgium 30,700 km²	7.95×	1.67×
Germany 358,000 km²	0.68×	0.14×
Japan 374,000 km²	0.65×	0.14×
France 548,000 km²	0.44×	0.09×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.08×	0.02×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.03×	0.01×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.03×	0.01×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.01×	1 in 332

Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.

Side by side

	United Kingdom	Costa Rica
Area, main territory	244,000 km²94,100 mi²	51,200 km²19,700 mi²
Population	67.3 millionWikidata, 2021	5.3 millionWikidata, 2024
Density	276 per km²	103 per km²
Official area	242,000 km²Wikidata	51,200 km²Wikidata
Capital	London	San José
Latitude range	50°N to 61°N	6°N to 11°N
Continent	Europe	North America

Population: Wikidata 2021 and Wikidata 2024, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 242,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 244,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 51,200 km² agrees with our measured area of 51,200 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to United Kingdom

Similar in size to Costa Rica

More comparisons

Sources and method

Outlines: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. Main territory: the largest landmass and every part within 1,000 km of it.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded. Comparisons use main-territory area.
Drawing: Each outline is projected with an equal-area projection centred on its own centroid, so areas stay true and the two can be laid over each other.
Data built: 2026-11-11

Full method