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Distance Between Cities Calculator
Calculate the straight-line great-circle distance between any two locations on Earth using latitude and longitude coordinates. Get results in km, miles, and nautical miles using the Haversine formula.
Formula
a = sin²(Δlat/2)+cos(lat1)cos(lat2)sin²(Δlon/2) | c = 2atan2(√a,√(1-a)) | d = R×c | R = 6,371 km
Map Projections
All flat maps distort Earth because a sphere cannot be flattened without distortion. Mercator projection preserves shape but distorts area near poles. Equal-area projections preserve area but distort shape. Web Mercator (Google Maps, OpenStreetMap) is standard for web mapping. For accurate distance and area calculations, always use geographic coordinates rather than measured map distances.
Great-Circle Distance Guide
The great-circle distance is the shortest path between two points on Earth's surface — the route aircraft fly. On flat Mercator maps, great-circle routes appear curved because the map distorts distances near poles. A flight from New York to Tokyo arcs over Alaska, not straight across the Pacific.
Famous City Distances
Route
Distance
Notes
New York to London
5,570 km
3,461 mi | 7-8 hr flight
London to Sydney
16,993 km
10,561 mi | 22 hr
LA to Tokyo
8,815 km
5,479 mi | 11-12 hr
Dubai to New York
11,025 km
6,851 mi | 14 hr
NY to Los Angeles
3,940 km
2,449 mi | 5 hr
Haversine Formula
Steps: (1) Convert angles to radians. (2) Δlat=lat2-lat1, Δlon=lon2-lon1. (3) a=sin²(Δlat/2)+cos(lat1)×cos(lat2)×sin²(Δlon/2). (4) c=2×arctan2(√a,√(1-a)). (5) d=R×c. R=6,371 km. Accurate to 0.5% — sufficient for all practical geographic calculations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use the Haversine formula with latitude and longitude. New York (40.71N,74.01W) to London (51.51N,0.13W)=5,570 km=3,461 miles. This is great-circle (straight-line) distance, not driving distance.
Shortest distance between two points on a sphere measured along the surface. The path aircraft fly. Always less than driving distance. Earth radius=6,371 km. Haversine formula accurate to 0.5%.
Exactly 111.32 km anywhere on Earth — latitude lines are evenly spaced. 1 minute of latitude=1.852 km=1 nautical mile. 1 second=30.9 m.
Accurate to 0.5% for most distances. For survey precision use Vincenty formula (0.3mm). Earth is oblate spheroid with radius 6,357 km (poles) to 6,378 km (equator). Haversine assumes perfect sphere.
Half the circumference: 40,075/2=20,037 km. Any two antipodal points are this far apart. No major city pair is exactly antipodal.
Straight-line always less than driving. Flat terrain ratio: 1.1-1.2x. Mountains: 1.3-1.8x. Coastal with detour: 2-5x. GPS uses road network data for driving routes.