QCOSTARICA – How small is Costa Rica? Costa Rica is a tiny country between Nicaragua and Panama, with a landmass of 51,100 square kilometers (19,700 square miles).
Costa Rica is the 126th largest country in the world (out of 195) by area. Population wise, 120th, according to Worldometer.com.
Costa Rica borders the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Costa Rica also borders Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south.
The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripó, at 3,819 metres (12,530 ft). The highest volcano in the country is the Irazú Volcano (3,431 m or 11,257 ft) and the largest lake is Lake Arenal. There are 14 known volcanoes in Costa Rica, and seven of them are active.
To put that into context, Costa Rica is smaller than West Virginia, the 41st-largest U.S. state by area – 62,755 km2 (24,230 sq mi).
Costa Rica fits into the United States, with a total area of 9,147,590 km2 (3,531,905 sq mi), 179 times.
