Miles to Kilometers

One mile equals 1.60934 kilometers. This conversion factor is exact and standardized internationally, so 5 miles = 8.05 km, 10 miles = 16.09 km, and so on.

The United States continues to use the imperial system (including miles) primarily due to historical precedent and the massive infrastructure cost of switching. Most other countries adopted the metric system in the 1900s.

A 5K race is 5 kilometers, which equals 3.1 miles. Similarly, a 10K is 6.2 miles, a half-marathon is 13.1 miles, and a full marathon is 26.2 miles (42.2 km).

Divide kilometers by 1.60934 (or multiply by 0.621371) to get miles. For example, 100 km ÷ 1.60934 = 62.14 miles. It's the reverse of the miles-to-km calculation.

Most GPS and mapping apps automatically detect your region and display distances accordingly—miles in the US, UK, and a few other countries, and kilometers nearly everywhere else. You can usually change this setting manually.