Latitude and Longitude Explained in Five Minutes
Every place on Earth can be described with two numbers: its latitude and its longitude. They're how GPS devices, map apps and emergency services pin down an exact spot, even where there's no street address. Here's what they mean and how to use them.
Latitude: north or south
Latitude measures how far north or south a place is from the equator. The equator is 0°. The North Pole is 90° north and the South Pole is 90° south. Lines of latitude run east to west around the globe, parallel to each other, which is why they're also called parallels.
One degree of latitude is always roughly 111 km. That makes latitude handy for quick distance estimates in a north–south direction.
Longitude: east or west
Longitude measures how far east or west a place is from the Prime Meridian, an imaginary line through Greenwich in London. The Prime Meridian is 0°. Longitude goes up to 180° east and 180° west, which meet on the opposite side of the world. Lines of longitude, called meridians, run from pole to pole.
Unlike latitude, the distance covered by one degree of longitude shrinks as you move away from the equator, because the meridians get closer together. It's about 111 km at the equator, about 100 km near Dubai, and zero at the poles.
Reading a pair of coordinates
Coordinates are always written with latitude first, then longitude. For example, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is at roughly:
This means 25.1972° north of the equator and 55.2744° east of Greenwich. In the decimal format, north and east are positive numbers, and south and west are negative. New York, for example, is around 40.71, −74.01: north of the equator, west of Greenwich.
Two common formats
| Format | Example (Burj Khalifa) | Where you'll see it |
|---|---|---|
| Decimal degrees | 25.1972, 55.2744 | Map apps, websites, GPS devices |
| Degrees, minutes, seconds | 25° 11′ 50″ N, 55° 16′ 28″ E | Nautical and aviation charts, older maps |
A degree is split into 60 minutes, and a minute into 60 seconds. To convert decimal to minutes and seconds, multiply the decimal part by 60 to get minutes, then multiply the remaining decimal by 60 again to get seconds. The GPS Coordinates tab in our planner shows both formats automatically.
How precise is precise enough?
The number of decimal places tells you how exact a coordinate is:
| Decimal places | Precision (approx.) | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1.1 km | A town or district |
| 3 | 110 m | A neighbourhood or large building |
| 4 | 11 m | A building entrance |
| 5 | 1.1 m | A specific spot, such as a parking space |
| 6 | 11 cm | Surveying and mapping |
For sharing a meeting point, five decimal places is plenty.
Finding the coordinates of a place
- Open the planner and switch to the GPS Coordinates tab.
- Type a place name or address and press Find, or simply click on the map.
- The latitude, longitude and degrees-minutes-seconds values appear below. Press Copy coordinates to share them.
You can also send the location straight to the route planner as your start or destination.
When coordinates are useful
- Places without an address, such as a beach, a desert camp, a trailhead or a site under construction.
- Large sites where the address doesn't say which gate or entrance to use.
- Emergencies, where giving your exact coordinates helps responders find you quickly.
- Photography and outdoor trips, for saving viewpoints and campsites to return to later.
A common mix-up
If a location shows up in the wrong country, or in the ocean, the numbers are probably the wrong way round or missing a minus sign. Check that latitude comes first, and that places south of the equator or west of Greenwich have negative values.
Plan it now: enter your start and destination in the Plan Your Route planner to get the distance, travel time and fuel cost in seconds.