Far Off
The distance around the world is 40,075 km (24,901 miles) along the equator, and 40,008 km (24,860 miles) through both poles. Those are the geometric answers. Ask how far a real circumnavigation is, on foot, by bike, by plane or by boat, and the figure moves anywhere from 26,000 to 52,000 km depending on the rules.
| # | Around the world | Distance | Benchmark time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Along London’s latitude | 24,995 km | 24 h, standing still |
| 2 | On foot, official minimum | 26,232 km | 622 days |
| 3 | By bike, official minimum | 28,970 km | 78 d 14 h 40 min |
| 4 | By plane, official minimum | 36,788 km | 31 h 27 min (Concorde) |
| 5 | Through the poles | 40,008 km | No record |
| 6 | Along the equator | 40,075 km | No record |
| 7 | By plane, non-stop, no refuelling | 40,212 km | 9 d 3 min |
| 8 | In orbit, aboard the ISS | about 42,700 km | 92.9 min |
| 9 | By solar plane | 43,041 km | 16 months, 23 days airborne |
| 10 | Under sail, crewed | 52,440 km | 40 d 10 h 45 min |
Geometric distances are computed on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the model GPS uses. Records are current as of 1 October 2026.
1. Along London’s latitude: 24,995 km
The parallel through London, at 51.51° north, is 24,995 km long (15,531 miles). That is the trip you make without moving: the Earth’s rotation carries London round at about 1,044 km/h and brings it back to the same spot in just under 24 hours.
Detail. The further from the equator, the shorter the loop. London’s parallel is only 62% of the equator. New York, further south at 40.71°, sits on a 30,420 km loop and travels at 1,271 km/h. At the Arctic Circle the figure drops to 15,986 km, and at the pole it is zero. That is why no governing body accepts a “circumnavigation” that just crosses every meridian close to a pole.
2. On foot: 26,232 km
The World Runners Association, which ratifies running circumnavigations, sets a minimum of 26,232 km (16,300 miles). The figure is the sum of the widest crossings of the continents. Runners must also cross every meridian, cross at least four continents coast to coast, and cover at least 3,000 km on each.
Detail. The fastest is Australian Tom Denniss: 622 days, from 31 December 2011 to 13 September 2013, an average of 42 km a day for twenty months. The longest was no race at all: Québec’s Jean Béliveau walked about 75,000 km between 2000 and 2011, nearly twice the equator. The World Runners Association rules set out what counts and what does not.
3. By bike: 28,970 km
Guinness World Records requires at least 18,000 miles, or 28,970 km, on a route that passes through two roughly antipodal points. Flights and sea crossings between continents do not count towards the distance.
Detail. The record belongs to Scotland’s Mark Beaumont: 78 days, 14 hours and 40 minutes, from 2 July to 18 September 2017, close to 370 km a day. It is likely to stand: Guinness has made the category inactive and no longer accepts attempts.
4. By plane, the official minimum: 36,788 km
For the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, a round-the-world flight must cover at least 36,787.559 km, the length of the Tropic of Cancer. It must also cross every meridian and land back at the departure airfield.
Detail. The fastest circumnavigation by passenger aircraft still belongs to Air France Concorde F-BTSD, on 15 and 16 August 1995: 31 hours, 27 minutes and 49 seconds from New York, with six stops at Toulouse, Dubai, Bangkok, Guam, Honolulu and Acapulco. Thirty years on, Guinness still lists it as the record.
5. Through the poles: 40,008 km
A full meridian, running through the North and South Poles, measures 40,007.863 km. That is 67 km less than the equator, because the Earth is slightly flattened at the poles.
Detail. The metre was defined in 1791 as one ten-millionth of the distance from pole to equator. Done perfectly, the polar circumference would be exactly 40,000 km. The 8 km gap comes from inaccuracies in the survey by Delambre and Méchain, who measured the meridian from Dunkirk to Barcelona to fix the new unit.
6. Along the equator: 40,075 km
The equator measures 40,075.017 km (24,901 miles) on the WGS84 ellipsoid. It is the figure usually quoted as “the circumference of the Earth”, and the largest circle that can be drawn on its surface.
Detail. At the equator the Earth’s rotation reaches 1,674 km/h, against 1,044 km/h in London. Those free extra hundreds of km/h are why rockets launch as close to the equator as they can, and why Europe flies from Kourou in French Guiana. Wikipedia’s article on Earth’s circumference covers both measurements.
7. By plane, non-stop: 40,212 km
Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager’s Voyager was the first aircraft to fly round the world without stopping or refuelling, from 14 to 23 December 1986. It took 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds, over an officially recognised 40,212 km.
Detail. The distance actually flown was 42,432 km, after detours forced by weather. Fuel made up nearly three quarters of the aircraft’s take-off weight, and about 1.5% of it was left on landing. Average speed: 186 km/h.
8. In orbit: about 42,700 km
The International Space Station orbits at around 417 km. Its loop is therefore close to 42,700 km, covered in 92.9 minutes at 27,600 km/h. That is 15.5 trips round the world a day.
Detail. An astronaut on a six-month stay circles the Earth about 2,800 times, more than 120 million km. Yet none of those orbits would count as a circumnavigation by any governing body’s rules: the ISS orbit is inclined at 51.6°, and the station never passes over the polar regions.
9. By solar plane: 43,041 km
Solar Impulse 2, flown in turns by Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, completed the first solar-powered circumnavigation between 9 March 2015 and 26 July 2016, from Abu Dhabi back to Abu Dhabi. Seventeen legs, 43,041 km.
Detail. Sixteen months on the calendar for about 558 hours in the air, roughly 23 days. The Nagoya to Hawaii leg lasted close to 118 hours without landing, with a single pilot on board. The rest of the time the plane sat on the ground waiting for weather, or for battery repairs.
10. Under sail: 52,440 km
The Jules Verne Trophy goes to the fastest crewed, non-stop sailing circumnavigation. The record dates from January 2026: Thomas Coville and the crew of Sodebo Ultim 3, who left Ushant on 15 December 2025, finished in 40 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 50 seconds.
Detail. The theoretical course is 21,600 nautical miles, about 40,000 km. Sodebo actually covered 28,315 nautical miles, or 52,440 km, at an average of 54 km/h. Sailing boats never travel in a straight line: they drop south for the Southern Ocean winds and zigzag between weather systems. Single-handed, François Gabart has held the record since 2017, in 42 days and 16 hours over 51,596 km. Charlie Dalin won the 2024-25 Vendée Globe in 64 days and 19 hours, covering 51,241 km.
Why no distance on Earth is more than 20,000 km
If the full loop is 40,075 km, no two points on Earth can be more than half of that apart: about 20,000 km, the distance from any place to its antipode. London to Sydney, at 16,994 km, is already 85% of the way to that ceiling.
That makes a handy check when estimating distances. Any answer above 20,000 km is wrong by definition. New York to Singapore, the longest commercial flight today at 15,349 km, already covers three quarters of the largest gap possible.
What these numbers say about the word “around”
All ten answers are right, each for its own definition of “around”. The surveyor measures a circle, the cyclist and the runner must pass through set points, the sailor and the pilot are judged on a theoretical course and then cover a great deal more.
The most telling gap is the sailing one: 40,000 km of official course, 52,440 km actually sailed. More than 12,000 km of detour, further than London to Tokyo, purely to find wind.
Mirror piece: the longest straight line on Earth, which covers 80% of the circumference without touching land. Going further: the antipode of France, the 10 longest flights in the world and the 10 longest train journeys in the world.
Frequently asked questions
How many km is it around the world?
The Earth is 40,075 km (24,901 miles) around at the equator and 40,008 km (24,860 miles) through the poles, on the WGS84 ellipsoid used by GPS. The 67 km difference comes from the Earth’s flattening at the poles. For a real circumnavigation, the official minimums are shorter: 26,232 km on foot, 28,970 km by bike and 36,788 km by plane.
How long does it take to go around the world?
It depends on how you travel. The passenger aircraft record is 31 hours and 27 minutes, by Concorde in 1995. Under sail, the crewed record has been 40 days and 10 hours since January 2026. By bike it is 78 days and 14 hours, and on foot 622 days. The ISS does it in 92.9 minutes.
Why is a run around the world only 26,232 km?
Because nobody can run across an ocean. The World Runners Association adds up the widest crossings of the continents, 26,232 km, and lets runners cross the seas by boat or plane. In return they must cross every meridian, run across at least four continents and cover at least 3,000 km on each.
What is the furthest apart two places on Earth can be?
About 20,000 km: half the distance around the world, which is the distance from any place to its antipode. It is exactly 20,004 km for any pair of antipodes: because the Earth is flattened, the shortest path between a point and its antipode always runs over a pole. No straight-line distance measured on the surface of the globe can be greater.
How long does light take to go around the Earth?
133.7 milliseconds to cover the 40,075 km of the equator at 299,792 km/s. Light could go round the Earth about 7.5 times in one second. That is roughly the floor for a data round trip to the far side of the world, and real optical fibre is about a third slower still.