mph to km/h — convert miles per hour to kilometres per hour

1mph1.609344km/h

Exact 1 × 1.609344 = 1.609344

1 mile per hour in other units

Metres per second0.44704m/s
Kilometres per hour1.609344km/h
Feet per second1.466667ft/s
Knots0.86897624kn

mph to km/h at a glance

Miles per hourKilometres per hour
1 mph1.609344 km/h
2 mph3.218688 km/h
3 mph4.828032 km/h
5 mph8.04672 km/h
10 mph16.09344 km/h
20 mph32.18688 km/h
25 mph40.2336 km/h
50 mph80.4672 km/h
100 mph160.9344 km/h
250 mph402.336 km/h
500 mph804.672 km/h
1,000 mph1,609.34 km/h

How to convert miles per hour to kilometres per hour

Multiply by 1.609344 — one mile per hour is 1.609344 kilometres per hour. That factor is exact: it comes from the definition of the units rather than from a measurement, so it will not change and does not need rounding.

Working 1 × 1.609344 = 1.609344

In words: about two kilometres per hour.

Questions

How many kilometres per hour are in a mile per hour?

One mile per hour is 1.609344 kilometres per hour. This figure is exact — it comes from the definition of the unit, not a measurement.

What is 1 mile per hour in kilometres per hour?

1 mile per hour is 1.609344 kilometres per hour. The working is 1 × 1.609344 = 1.609344.

What is a knot?

One nautical mile per hour — and a nautical mile is one minute of latitude, fixed at exactly 1,852 metres. That is the whole point of it: a ship making 10 knots for six hours has covered one degree of latitude, which you can read straight off a chart without converting anything.

Why do sailors and pilots say "knots" and not "knots per hour"?

Because the "per hour" is already inside the word. A knot is a speed, not a distance, so "knots per hour" would be an acceleration. The name comes from the knotted rope once paid out behind a ship and counted against a sand glass.

What's the quick way to convert mph to km/h in my head?

Multiply by 1.6, or add 60%. For the other direction, take away a third and then a little more. Fifty mph is 80 km/h, 60 is 97, 70 is 113 — worth remembering if you drive across a border where the signs change.

Why isn't Mach on this page?

Because it is not a fixed unit. Mach 1 is the local speed of sound, which falls as air gets colder — around 1,235 km/h at sea level but closer to 1,062 km/h in the stratosphere where airliners cruise. A single conversion factor would be wrong nearly everywhere.

Other speed conversions

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