How many times around the world is that?
Lifetime mileage, fleet totals and cable lengths only mean something once you divide by the planet.
9.98 × an around the equator
400,000 km ÷ 40,075 km = 9.981 laps.
Reference figures are measurements and are rounded; the unit conversion behind them is exact.
| Reference | Size | Yours ÷ theirs | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| London to Sydney | 16,993 km | 23.5× | |
| around the poles | 40,008 km | 10× | Slightly shorter — the Earth bulges |
| around the equator | 40,075 km | 9.98× | |
| to the Moon | 384,400 km | 1.04× |
Worth knowing
- The equatorial circumference is 67 km longer than the polar one, because the Earth is 21 km wider at the equator than pole to pole.
- The average car covers about 12 000 km a year, so a lap of the Earth takes just over three years of ordinary driving.
Frequently asked
How far is it around the world?
40 075 km around the equator, 40 008 km through the poles. The near-round number is deliberate: the metre was defined from the pole-to-equator quarter-meridian.
How long would it take to walk around the world?
Ignoring oceans, at 30 km a day it would take about 3.7 years of continuous walking. The land-only routes people actually walk run 40 000–60 000 km over four to five years.