Type into either field — the conversion (1 kg = 2.20462 lb) updates live.
Common kilogram-to-pound conversions.
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One kilogram is 2.20462262185 pounds. Unusually for a unit conversion, that is not an approximation of anything — it is exact by definition, running the other way: since 1959 the international pound has been defined as exactly 0.45359237 kg. Every pound figure in the world is derived from the kilogram.
So the arithmetic is simply pounds = kilograms × 2.20462, and kilograms = pounds ÷ 2.20462. Seventy kilograms is 154.32 lb. The reverse division is where people slip: dividing by 2.2 rather than multiplying by 0.4536 is the same operation, but mixing the two up inverts the answer entirely, and a 154 kg human is a more obvious error than a 70 lb one.
Multiplying by 2.2 is close enough for almost anything and easy to hold: double it, then add 10%. Seventy kilograms doubles to 140, plus 14 gives 154 — against a true 154.32, an error of 0.2%.
Going the other way, halve it, then subtract 10%. A hundred and fifty pounds halves to 75, minus 7.5 gives 67.5 kg — the true figure is 68.04, so about 0.8% out. Both shortcuts are well inside the accuracy of a bathroom scale, and both fail exactly where precision matters, which is the next point.
British body weight is usually spoken in stone and pounds, where one stone is 14 pounds. It is a two-step conversion and the second step is the one that goes wrong: 70 kg is 154.32 lb, which is 154.32 ÷ 14 = 11.02 stone — but that is 11 stone 0.3 lb, not "11.02 stone", because the remainder is in pounds rather than decimal.
The rule: take the whole number of stone, then multiply the decimal part by 14 to get the leftover pounds. Someone at 80 kg is 176.37 lb, which is 12 stone 8 lb. Reading the decimal as pounds directly would make that 12 stone 6 — wrong by two pounds, and wrong in a way nobody catches.
For groceries, luggage and bodyweight, 2.2 is fine. Three situations need the full factor:
A last distinction worth holding: kilograms measure mass and pounds are commonly used for both mass and force. On Earth the difference never shows up. It is why a "pound-force" exists as a separate unit, and why the weight on other planets calculator can give you a different pound figure for an unchanged kilogram mass.
Multiply the kilogram value by 2.20462: pounds = kg × 2.20462. 1 kilogram is defined as exactly 2.20462... pounds (the pound itself is defined as exactly 0.45359237 kg).
Divide the pound value by 2.20462, or equivalently multiply by 0.453592: kg = pounds × 0.453592. For example, 150 lb × 0.453592 ≈ 68.04 kg.
The US (along with a few other countries) uses the pound as its everyday unit for body weight and many other measurements, while most of the rest of the world uses the metric kilogram — a legacy of the US never fully adopting the metric system for everyday use, even though pounds and kilograms are both legally defined relative to each other today.
The UK typically reports body weight in stone rather than pounds or kilograms alone. Convert to pounds first (kg × 2.20462), then divide by 14, since one stone is defined as exactly 14 pounds. A 70 kg adult weighs 70 × 2.20462 ÷ 14 ≈ 11.02 stone (sometimes written "11 stone 0 lb," since the remainder after the whole-stone figure is usually expressed in pounds).
Roughly double the kilogram figure, then add about 10% of that doubled number for a close estimate — for 70 kg: 70 × 2 = 140, plus 10% ≈ 154, matching the exact 154.32 lb almost exactly. It's accurate to within a pound or two for typical body-weight ranges, handy when you don't have this page open.
Worked example: a 68 kg person weighs 68 × 2.20462 ≈ 149.9 lb, or about 10.7 stone. A 200 lb person converts to 200 × 0.453592 ≈ 90.7 kg.
Converting height too? Pair this with the CM to Inches Converter or the Celsius to Fahrenheit Converter, plug both height and weight into the BMI Calculator or Ideal Weight Calculator, or convert any other unit with the full Unit Converter.