Convert miles to km

One mile equals 1.609344 kilometers. To convert any number of miles to kilometers, multiply by 1.609344.

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.

miles to km formula

To go the other way, use mile = kilometer ÷ 1.609344.

About these units

The statute mile is 5,280 feet — an awkward number inherited from the Roman mille passus of 1,000 paces, later adjusted to fit the English furlong.

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.

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

Sources

1. National Bureau of Standards, "Refinement of Values for the Yard and the Pound", Federal Register, 1 July 1959 — the international yard as exactly 0.9144 m and the avoirdupois pound as exactly 0.45359237 kg.