When you need this conversion
Body weight, gym weights, luggage limits, shipping and recipes. Most of the world uses kilograms; the US uses pounds, and the UK and Ireland often use stone and pounds for body weight.
Quick reference
- 1 kg = 2.20462 lb
- 5 kg = 11.0231 lb
- 10 kg = 22.0462 lb
- 50 kg = 110.231 lb
- 100 kg = 220.462 lb
Luggage limits
A 23 kg checked bag allowance is 50.7 lb and a 32 kg heavy-bag limit is 70.5 lb. US carriers usually quote 50 lb (22.68 kg) and 70 lb (31.75 kg), so a bag packed right up to 23 kg would slightly exceed a strict 50 lb limit.
Common mistakes
Using 2.2 for precise work. On 100 kg the shortcut is 0.46 lb short. For medicine doses or freight, use the exact factor.
Confusing mass and force. Kilograms and pounds here are both mass. “Pounds-force” and newtons are forces, a different conversion.
For stone, use kg to stone. For the reverse, use pounds to kg.