Square Kilometers to Square Miles Converter
1 square kilometer = 0.386102 square miles
Whether you are working in real estate or agriculture, converting from square kilometers to square miles is a task you will encounter regularly. The square kilometer naturally followed from the kilometer as a convenient unit for geographic areas. For quick reference, 1 km2 equals 0.386102 mi2.
Did you know? Did you know? Manhattan has an area of about 59 square kilometers. Converting that to square miles: that is approximately 22.78 square miles.
Conversion Formula
square miles = square kilometers x 0.386102
To convert square kilometers to square miles, multiply by 0.386102. Since 1 km = 0.621371 miles, squaring gives 1 km2 = 0.386102 mi2.
Square Kilometers to Square Miles Table
| Square Kilometers (km2) | Square Miles (mi2) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.386102 |
| 10 | 3.86102 |
| 100 | 38.6102 |
| 500 | 193.051 |
| 1000 | 386.102 |
| 10000 | 3861.02 |
| 100000 | 38610.2 |
| 357588 | 138072 |
| 9833520 | 3796742 |
| 17098242 | 6601670 |
About Square Kilometers to Square Miles
The square kilometer to square mile conversion is used for comparing country areas, state sizes, and geographic regions. Most world data uses square kilometers, while US geography often references square miles.
Country sizes provide great context: France covers 643,801 km2 (248,573 mi2), roughly the size of Texas (695,662 km2 / 268,596 mi2). Germany is 357,588 km2 (138,072 mi2), about the size of Montana. The UK at 242,495 km2 (93,628 mi2) is smaller than Oregon.
The United States spans 9,833,520 km2 (3,796,742 mi2), while Russia - the world's largest country - covers 17,098,242 km2 (6,601,670 mi2). Vatican City, the smallest country, is just 0.44 km2 (0.17 mi2).
City comparisons also use this conversion. Greater London is 1,572 km2 (607 mi2). Paris (city proper) is only 105 km2 (40.5 mi2). New York City covers 783 km2 (302 mi2), and Los Angeles is 1,302 km2 (503 mi2).
Natural features measured in km2 include Lake Baikal (31,722 km2 / 12,248 mi2), the Amazon rainforest (5.5 million km2 / 2.12 million mi2), and the Sahara Desert (9.2 million km2 / 3.55 million mi2).
For a quick estimate, multiply square kilometers by 0.39, or roughly divide by 2.59.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many square miles is 1 square kilometer?
1 square kilometer equals 0.3861 square miles. A square kilometer is about 38.6% of a square mile.
How do I compare country sizes in km2 and mi2?
Multiply the km2 area by 0.3861. For example, Japan at 377,975 km2 = 145,937 mi2, making it slightly smaller than California (423,970 km2 / 163,696 mi2).
How many km2 in a square mile?
1 square mile = 2.58999 km2. So a square mile is about 2.59 times larger than a square kilometer.
What is the area of the Earth in km2?
The Earth has a total surface area of about 510.1 million km2 (196.9 million mi2), of which about 148.9 million km2 (57.5 million mi2) is land.