Latitude and Longitude

In short: Latitude and longitude give any place's position on Earth. Latitude measures how far north or south of the equator a place is, from 0° to 90°, and longitude measures how far east or west of Greenwich it is, from 0° to 180°.

Before you start

• Coordinates on a grid use two numbers (see Coordinates and the Number Plane).
• Angles are measured in degrees. A full turn is 360°.
• North, south, east and west (see Compass Directions and Maps).

Two sets of lines

Writing a position

Write latitude first, then longitude, each with its letter.

Sydney is about 34°S, 151°E. That means 34° south of the equator and 151° east of Greenwich.

Australia on the grid

All of Australia is south of the equator and east of Greenwich, so every Australian city has S and E.

A bigger south latitude means further south: Hobart (43°S) is further south than Darwin (12°S). A bigger east longitude means further east: Brisbane (153°E) is east of Perth (116°E).

Around the world

New York and Mexico City have W because they are in the Americas, west of Greenwich. Cities in the northern half of the world have N.

Quick summary

• Latitude measures north or south of the equator (0° to 90°).
• Longitude measures east or west of the prime meridian at Greenwich (0° to 180°).
• Write latitude first, then longitude, each with N, S, E or W.
• Australia is south and east, so its cities have S and E.
• The Earth turns 15° of longitude every hour.

Quiz