Everyday Life

Nautical Mile Calculator

Convert nautical miles to kilometers and statute miles.


Nautical Mile Calculator

Advertisement

Convert nautical miles into both kilometers and statute (land) miles.

How it works

The international nautical mile is defined as exactly 1,852 meters, giving 1 nmi = 1.852 km and, since a statute mile is 1,609.344 meters, 1 nmi = 1.150779 statute miles.

What this does not include

This converts a nautical-mile distance to two other units — it doesn’t convert speed (knots), which this site’s separate knots-to-kph calculator handles.

How to use this calculator

  1. Enter a distance in nautical miles.

Why is the nautical mile different from the statute mile?

The nautical mile was originally defined to relate to one minute of latitude on Earth’s surface, a navigational convenience that has nothing to do with the statute mile’s separate historical origin.

Where is the nautical mile still used today?

Maritime and aviation navigation continue to use the nautical mile (and its associated speed unit, the knot) as the standard, even in countries that otherwise use metric or statute-mile units for everyday distances.

Is a nautical mile longer or shorter than a statute mile?

Longer — 1 nautical mile is about 1.15 statute miles, so a given nautical-mile distance always converts to a larger number of statute miles.

Be the first to rate this

Written by

S. Tanaka

Everyday-life writer

S. Tanaka writes the everyday-life calculators: time and date arithmetic, reading speed, tips, and the small practical sums people look up mid-task. The aim is a page that answers the question in the first screen and explains the method underneath for anyone who wants it. Simple topics still deserve a stated method.

Reviewed by

H. Marchetti

Calculator reviewer — everyday life and food

H. Marchetti reviews the everyday-life and food calculators, checking that rules of thumb are labelled as approximations and that guidance involving food safety points readers to the check that actually matters rather than to a time estimate. Practical pages still need their method stated, and review confirms it is there.

How we write and review

Related calculators