However, there still remain a number of countries that primarily use the mile instead of the kilometer including the United States and the United Kingdom (UK). This definition is subject to change, but the relationship between the meter and the kilometer will remain constant.Ĭurrent use: It is currently the official unit of measurement for expressing distances between geographical places on land in most of the world.

The origin of the kilometer is linked to that of the meter, and its current definition as the distance traveled by light in 1/299 792 458 second. One kilometer is therefore one thousand meters. History/origin: The prefix kilo- is a metric prefix indicating one thousand. One kilometer is equivalent to 0.6214 miles. Kilometerĭefinition: A kilometer (symbol: km) is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI).

There also exist a number of units based on, or closely related to, the Roman mile, including the nautical mile (1.852 km exactly), Italian mile (~1.852 km), and the Chinese mile (500m exactly).Ĭurrent use: Although most countries have adopted the metric system and use kilometers, rather than miles, to express land distance, the mile is still prevalently used in countries such as the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), Myanmar, and Liberia, as well as some other countries which are either US or UK territories, or have historical ties with either country. The definition of a mile as 5,280 feet (or 8 furlongs), sometimes referred to as the statute mile, international mile, or land mile, which differs from the Roman mile of 5,000 feet, developed due to the importance of the furlong in England, back in 1593. The use of the abbreviation 'm' for mile was common before the widespread adoption of the metric system after the adoption of the metric system, 'mi' became the preferred abbreviation in order to avoid confusion between miles and meters. History/origin: The mile is an English unit (predecessor of Imperial units and United States Customary Units) of length.

It is currently defined as 5,280 feet, 1,760 yards, or exactly 1,609.344 meters. Definition: A mile (symbol: mi or m) is a unit of length in the imperial and US customary systems of measurement.

Miles vs kilometers calculator