Kilograms to pounds

The conversion

One kilogram is 2.20462262 pounds. To go the other way, one pound is 0.45359237 kilograms — and that figure is exact, not rounded, because since 1959 the international pound has been defined as exactly 0.45359237 kg rather than measured against anything.

For mental arithmetic, doubling and adding ten percent gets you within half a percent: 70 kg → 140 + 14 = 154 lb, against a true 154.3.

Pounds, stones and the confusing bit

British body weight is usually given in stones and pounds, where one stone is 14 pounds. So 70 kg is 154.3 lb, which is 11 stone 0.3 lb. American usage drops stones entirely and quotes the pounds. If a result looks ten times too big or small, this is almost always why.

Mass and weight are not the same thing

Strictly, kilograms measure mass and pounds-force measure weight, and the two only correspond because we are all standing on the same planet. In every practical context — bathroom scales, luggage, recipes, freight — the conversion above is the one you want, and the distinction only matters in physics.

Where it comes up

Airline baggage limits are the usual one: 23 kg is 50.7 lb, which is why the American limit is quoted as 50 lb. Gym plates, cooking measurements and shipping weights are the others.

Other units

The box above takes anything: type 5 ft in cm, 180 c to f, 2 gb in mb, or 60 mph to kmh.