Convert km to nautical miles

One kilometer equals 0.539957 nautical miles. To convert any number of kilometers to nautical miles, multiply by 0.5399568.

The converter above works in both directions and updates as you type. Below you will find the formula, a worked example and a reference table of common values.

Length conversions come up wherever a measurement crosses a border: a height given in feet and inches on a form that wants centimetres, a running distance recorded in kilometres and compared against miles, a component specified in millimetres and ordered from a supplier working in inches. The conversions themselves are exact — the inch, foot, yard and mile have all been defined in metric terms since 1959 — so any discrepancy comes from rounding, not from the units disagreeing.

km to nautical miles formula

To go the other way, use kilometer = nautical mile ÷ 0.5399568.

About these units

The kilometre is a thousand metres, and the standard road-distance unit in every country except the United States, the United Kingdom and a handful of others.

A nautical mile is one minute of latitude, which is why it is the natural unit at sea and in the air. It was fixed at exactly 1,852 metres in 1929.

Kilometer is also written kilometre, kilometres, kilometers and kms. Nautical Mile is also written nautical miles and nm.

Sources

1. International Hydrographic Conference, Monaco, 1929 — the international nautical mile as exactly 1,852 metres, from which the knot follows.