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Convert Kilometres per hour to Knots

1 kilometre per hour is 0.539957 kn. One kilometre per hour is exactly 0.539956803456 knots.

One kilometre per hour is 0.5399568 knots. To convert kilometres per hour to knots, multiply by 0.5399568; to go the other way, divide by 0.5399568 or multiply by 1.852. The factor is exact rather than rounded: it follows from NIST Special Publication 811. Exactly one kilometre divided by 3,600 seconds.

Factor checked against the defining standard · How we check

Knots
0.539957 kn
Kilometres per hour × 0.5399568
value * 0.5399568034560.54 kn

1 kilometre per hour in every speed unit

UnitValueExact factor
metres per second0.2777777778 m/s× 0.277777777778
kilometres per hour (as entered)1 km/h
miles per hour0.6213711922 mph× 0.621371192237
knots0.5399568035 kn× 0.539956803456
feet per second0.9113444153 ft/s× 0.911344415281

Factors are entered by hand from NIST Special Publication 811 rather than derived from a units library, so the ones that terminate are exact rather than rounded.

How do you convert kilometres per hour to knots?

  1. 1.Take the measurement in kilometres per hour.
  2. 2.Multiply by 0.5399568 — that is how many knots fit in one kilometre per hour.
  3. 3.To go back the other way, divide by 0.5399568, or multiply by 1.852.

Kilometres per hour to knots conversion table

Kilometres per hourKnots
1 km/h0.539957 kn
2 km/h1.079914 kn
3 km/h1.61987 kn
4 km/h2.159827 kn
5 km/h2.699784 kn
6 km/h3.239741 kn
7 km/h3.779698 kn
8 km/h4.319654 kn
9 km/h4.859611 kn
10 km/h5.399568 kn
12 km/h6.479482 kn
15 km/h8.099352 kn
20 km/h10.799136 kn
25 km/h13.49892 kn
50 km/h26.99784 kn
100 km/h53.99568 kn

What are kilometres per hour and knots?

Kilometre per hour (km/h)
Exactly one kilometre divided by 3,600 seconds. The road speed unit almost everywhere outside the United States and the United Kingdom.
Knot (kn)
One nautical mile per hour — exactly 1,852 metres per hour. Used at sea and in the air because a nautical mile is one minute of latitude, which makes navigation arithmetic simple.

Source: NIST Special Publication 811 — conversion factors for speed

Questions people actually ask

How many knots are in a kilometre per hour?
0.5399568. One nautical mile per hour — exactly 1,852 metres per hour. Used at sea and in the air because a nautical mile is one minute of latitude, which makes navigation arithmetic simple.
How do I convert knots back to kilometres per hour?
Divide by 0.5399568, or multiply by 1.852 — they are the same operation.

Other speed conversions

Knots to kilometres per hour — the same conversion the other way.

Calculators that work in speed