North America · Central America
Costa Rica
Costa Rica covers about 51,200 km² (19,700 mi²), the 130th largest of the 246 places listed here. That is close to Bosnia and Herzegovina, at about 51,800 km².
- 51,200km²Area, main territory
- 5.3 millionPopulation
- 1.67In Belgiums
100 km
- Costa Rica
Facts
| Area, main territory | 51,200 km²19,700 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 51,200 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| In Belgiums | 1.67 |
| Capital | San José |
| Population | 5.3 millionWikidata, 2024 |
| Density | 103 people per km² |
| Latitude range | 6°N to 11°N |
| In other languages | コスタリカ 日本語 · 哥斯达黎加 中文 · 코스타리카 한국어 |
| Continent | North America#10 of 27 countries by area |
What the numbers say about Costa Rica
- Russia, the largest place listed, is 332× the size of Costa Rica.
- At 103 people per km², Costa Rica is the 68th most densely populated of the 185 places over 1,000 km²; the median is 72 per km².
- Costa Rica lies at 10°N, close to the equator, where a standard web map (Web Mercator) is nearly true to size: it inflates area by only about 1.0×.
- Laid out flat, Costa Rica's main territory stretches about 632 km north to south and 503 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 51,200 km² agrees with our measured area of 51,200 km², to within 2%.
How Costa Rica measures up
Costa Rica holds 0.2% of the land area and 0.9% of the people of the 27 countries listed for North America. In Central America it is the 6th largest of 8.
| Where it ranks | Figure | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 51,200 km² | 129th of 239 |
| Population | 5.3 million | 120th of 237 |
| Density | 103 per km² | 68th of 185 |
| Farthest north | 10.0°N | 140th of 212 |
| Compared with | Its area | Costa Rica is |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 30,700 km² | 1.67× its size |
| United Kingdom | 244,000 km² | 0.21× its size |
| Germany | 358,000 km² | 0.14× its size |
| Japan | 374,000 km² | 0.14× its size |
| France | 548,000 km² | 0.09× its size |
| India | 3,151,000 km² | 0.02× its size |
| Brazil | 8,473,000 km² | 0.01× its size |
| United States | 9,447,000 km² | 0.01× its size |
| Russia | 16,980,000 km² | 1 in 332 its size |
Where Costa Rica sits
- Costa Rica's centre lies at 10.0°N, 84.2°W, in the northern and western hemispheres, about 1,110 km from the equator.
- Its main territory spans 6°N to 11°N, about 630 km from its southern edge to its northern.
Closest neighbours, by distance between centres
On the same latitude, elsewhere in the world
If Costa Rica had other densities
- At Bangladesh's density of 1,252 people per km², Costa Rica would have 64.1 million people. It has 5.3 million.
- At Canada's density of 3.7 people per km², Costa Rica would have 190,000 people. It has 5.3 million.
- At the median density of the places listed, 72 per km², it would have 3.7 million.
About the same size as
Largest in North America
Compare Costa Rica
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Sources and method
- Outline
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded
- Official figures
- Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-11
- Population
- Wikidata, 2024; covers the whole country, overseas territory included
- Data built
- 2026-11-11