Unit Converter

New Zealand officially uses the metric system (the International System of Units, SI) for all official, scientific, commercial, and most everyday purposes. New Zealand completed its metrication in 1976, phasing out imperial units such as inches, feet, miles, pounds, and gallons. However, imperial units persist informally in some contexts: the construction industry still commonly refers to timber dimensions in inches (such as a "4x2" for a 90x45mm stud); some older New Zealanders still use miles, stones, and pounds for distances and personal weight; and some sports follow international conventions (golf uses yards, horse racing uses furlongs). All official signage, weather forecasts, legal documents, and food labelling in New Zealand use metric units. Source: Measurement New Zealand via MBIE; Weights and Measures Act 1987 (NZ).

To convert kilometres to miles, multiply the number of kilometres by 0.6214. Alternatively, divide the kilometres by 1.60934. For example: 100 km = 62.1 miles; 50 km = 31.1 miles; 10 km = 6.2 miles; and 1 km = 0.621 miles. This conversion is particularly relevant when comparing New Zealand distances and road trip lengths to descriptions in US or UK publications, which use miles. Speed limits in New Zealand are in km/h — the NZ open road speed limit of 100 km/h is approximately 62 mph. Running races in NZ use kilometres (5km, 10km, 21.1km half marathon, 42.2km full marathon), while some international events describe the same distances in miles. Source: Measurement New Zealand via MBIE; SI unit conversion standard.

To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, use the formula: F = (C multiplied by 9/5) + 32. Some key reference points: 0 degrees C = 32 degrees F (freezing point of water); 20 degrees C = 68 degrees F (comfortable room temperature); 37 degrees C = 98.6 degrees F (normal body temperature); and 100 degrees C = 212 degrees F (boiling point of water). New Zealand uses Celsius exclusively for all weather forecasts, medical purposes, cooking, and scientific measurements. The Fahrenheit conversion is most useful when following recipes from American cookbooks or websites, or when comparing NZ temperatures to US weather forecasts. To convert Fahrenheit back to Celsius, use: C = (F - 32) multiplied by 5/9. Source: Measurement New Zealand via MBIE; SI standard.

New Zealand cooking uses metric measurements. Key conversions: 1 NZ cup = 250ml (same as the Australian cup); 1 tablespoon = 15ml; 1 teaspoon = 5ml; and 1 dessertspoon = 10ml. Note that the US cup is 236ml (slightly smaller than the NZ/Australian cup), which can affect baking recipes. A standard NZ butter block is 500g, which equals approximately 2 US cups of butter or about 4 US sticks of butter. NZ recipes increasingly use weight (grams) for dry ingredients for greater accuracy. When using American recipes in New Zealand, be aware that US cups are slightly smaller, US tablespoons are 14.8ml (compared to 15ml in NZ), and oven temperatures in American recipes are often given in Fahrenheit rather than Celsius. Source: Measurement New Zealand via MBIE; New Zealand culinary standards.