Driving abroad
A 130 km/h motorway limit is 81 mph and a 70 mph limit is 113 km/h. Cars sold in one market and driven in another often have both scales on the dial, with the secondary one in smaller figures.
Speed
Convert mph to km/h
1 mile per hour equals 1.609344 kilometers per hour. Enter a value below to convert instantly.
Miles per hour to kilometres per hour is the conversion behind every rental-car dashboard and every international speed limit. The factor is exactly 1.609344, the same number as the distance conversion, because the time unit is identical on both sides.
1 mph
1.609344 km/h
Multiply the number of miles per hour by 1.609344 to get kilometers per hour. How this is calculated
Need the other direction? Convert kilometer per hour to mile per hour →
Formula
Multiply the number of miles per hour by 1.609344 to get kilometers per hour.
Step by step
- Start with 1 mph.
- Multiply by the conversion factor 1.609344.
- 1 × 1.609344 = 1.609344 km/h.
Miles per Hour to Kilometers per Hour conversion table
| Miles per Hour (mph) | Kilometers per Hour (km/h) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1.609344 |
| 5 | 8.04672 |
| 10 | 16.09344 |
| 20 | 32.18688 |
| 30 | 48.28032 |
| 40 | 64.37376 |
| 50 | 80.4672 |
| 60 | 96.56064 |
| 80 | 128.74752 |
| 100 | 160.9344 |
Where miles per hour and kilometers per hour are used together
Weather and storm reports
Wind speeds are published in mph, km/h and knots simultaneously by meteorological agencies — the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale lists all three for every category, which makes it a convenient cross-check on any conversion.
Vehicle performance figures
0–60 mph and 0–100 km/h are the two standard acceleration benchmarks, and they are not the same test: 60 mph is 96.6 km/h, so a 0–100 km/h time is always slightly longer than the same car's 0–60 mph time.
Cycling and running pace
Speed in km/h converts directly, but pace — minutes per kilometre or per mile — is a reciprocal and does not. A 10 km/h run is 6:00 per km but 9:39 per mile.
Everyday miles per hour worth knowing
Values people actually look up, with the reason each one comes up. Every figure is calculated with the same engine as the converter above.
| Mile per Hour (mph) | Kilometer per Hour (km/h) | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 32.18688 | A residential limit |
| 30 | 48.28032 | A UK urban limit |
| 55 | 88.51392 | A US highway limit |
| 60 | 96.56064 | The standard acceleration benchmark |
| 65 | 104.60736 | A US interstate limit |
| 70 | 112.65408 | A UK motorway limit |
| 75 | 120.7008 | A US interstate limit |
| 100 | 160.9344 | A round figure |
How these two units are defined
Both units are a distance divided by an hour, so only the distance definition differs: exactly 1,609.344 m per mile against 1,000 m per kilometre. Speedometers are a separate matter — regulations in most markets allow a speedometer to over-read but never under-read, so a dashboard showing 100 km/h often means an actual 95–98 km/h. That tolerance is larger than any rounding in this conversion.
Rounding and precision
The factor is exact. Speed limits are set in round numbers in whichever system the country uses, so a converted limit is never round — 70 mph is 112.65 km/h. Quote converted limits to the nearest whole unit and remember that enforcement thresholds, speedometer tolerance and GPS lag all exceed the conversion's precision by a wide margin.
Mistakes people make with this conversion
-
Converting pace as if it were speed
Minutes per mile and minutes per kilometre are reciprocals of speed. A 6:00/km pace is 9:39/mile, not 3:44 — you divide by 0.621371 rather than multiply.
-
Assuming 100 km/h and 60 mph are equal
They differ by 3.5%: 60 mph is 96.6 km/h. It is close enough for conversation and not close enough for a performance comparison.
-
Trusting the speedometer as the true speed
Type approval in most markets permits a speedometer to read high. The indicated figure is usually a few percent above actual, which dwarfs any conversion rounding.
Read more about these units
Sources for this page
- Special Publication 811 — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)
- Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
Content on this page last reviewed 12 August 2026. Spotted an error? Report it — see also how these values are calculated.
Convert Mile per Hour to other speed units
1 mph expressed in every other speed unit on this site.
- Meter per Second m/s 0.44704
- Kilometer per Hour km/h 1.609344
- Kilometer per Minute km/min 0.0268224
- Kilometer per Second km/s 0.00044704
- Meter per Minute m/min 26.8224
- Meter per Hour m/h 1,609.344
- Centimeter per Second cm/s 44.704
- Centimeter per Minute cm/min 2,682.24
- Centimeter per Hour cm/h 160,934.4
- Millimeter per Second mm/s 447.04
- Millimeter per Minute mm/min 26,822.4
- Millimeter per Hour mm/h 1,609,344
- Mile per Hour mph 1
- Mile per Minute mi/min 0.016666667
- Mile per Second mi/s 0.00027777778
- Yard per Hour yd/h 1,760
- Yard per Minute yd/min 29.333333
- Yard per Second yd/s 0.48888889
- Foot per Hour ft/h 5,280
- Foot per Minute ft/min 88
- Foot per Second ft/s 1.4666667
- Inch per Second in/s 17.6
- Inch per Minute in/min 1,056
- Inch per Hour in/h 63,360
- Knot kn 0.86897624
- Knot (UK) kn (UK) 0.86842105
- Mach (sea level) M 0.001313703
- Mach (SI standard) M (SI) 0.0015151515
- Mach (20 °C, 1 atm) M (20 °C) 0.0013010477
- Speed of Sound (pure water) c (H₂O) 0.00030150401
- Speed of Sound (sea water) c (sea) 0.000293796
- Speed of Light (vacuum) c 1.4911649e-9
- Cosmic Velocity (first) v₁ 0.000056587342
- Cosmic Velocity (second) v₂ 0.000039914286
- Cosmic Velocity (third) v₃ 0.000026817037
- Earth's Orbital Velocity v⊕ 0.000015018982
About the mile per hour
The mile per hour (mph) is a Imperial unit of speed.
About the kilometer per hour
The kilometer per hour (km/h) is a Metric unit of speed.
Related conversions
Frequently asked questions
What is 70 mph in km/h?
70 mph is 112.65 km/h. UK motorway limits are set at 70 mph; the nearest round metric limit, 110 km/h, is slightly lower at 68.4 mph.
Is the mph to km/h factor the same as the mile to km factor?
Yes, exactly 1.609344, because the hour is common to both units. Only the distance part changes.
What is 0–60 mph in metric terms?
60 mph is 96.56 km/h, so a 0–60 mph time is measured over a slightly shorter run than the 0–100 km/h benchmark used in metric markets. Manufacturers publish whichever figure suits the market.
How many kilometers per hour are in a mile per hour?
One mile per hour equals 1.609344 kilometers per hour.
How do you convert miles per hour to kilometers per hour?
Multiply the number of miles per hour by 1.609344 to get kilometers per hour.
What is 1 kilometer per hour in miles per hour?
One kilometer per hour equals 0.62137119 miles per hour.
When would I convert miles per hour to kilometers per hour?
This conversion is common when driving, running, cycling, aviation, and weather reports.