Compass Points to Degrees (point to °)

1 compass point equals 11.25 degrees exactly.

How to convert compass points to degrees

To convert compass points to degrees, multiply the number of compass points by 11.25. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply degrees by 0.08888888889 (rounded).

degrees = compass points × 11.25

Example: 10 compass points = 112.5 degrees.

About these units

Compass Point (point)

NauticalTraditional unit (still used in some regions)

One 32nd of a turn (11.25 degrees), the spacing of the 32 points of the traditional compass rose such as north-north-east.

Before sailors routinely steered by degrees, they steered by points. The traditional compass rose splits the horizon into 32 points spaced 11.25 degrees apart. The four cardinal and four intercardinal directions make eight principal winds 45 degrees apart, half-winds such as north-northeast bring the count to 16 at 22.5 degrees, and quarter-winds with names like northeast by east complete the 32. Later navigation extended the system to 128 directions using half and quarter points, though compass roses rarely labeled them.

Crews practiced boxing the compass, naming all the points in order, and used points for relative bearings, such as an obstacle two points off the starboard bow, which is 22.5 degrees. Medieval Mediterranean sailors gave the eight main winds Italianate names, among them Tramontana for north, Levante for east, and Ponente for west, and portolan charts color-coded the principal, half, and quarter winds. A right angle spans exactly 8 points.

1 compass point = 0.03125 turns (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Points of the compass; Wikipedia: Right angle

Degree (°)

General & non-SICurrent unit

One 360th of a full turn. The everyday unit of angle, inherited from the ancient Babylonians' base-60 counting.

Dividing the circle into 360 parts traces back to the astronomers of ancient Babylon, who counted in base 60. Why 360 in particular is still debated. One explanation points to Persian and Babylonian calendars, which used a year of about 360 days, so the Sun seemed to advance roughly one degree each day. Another says the Babylonians started from the angle of an equilateral triangle and split it into 60 pieces, and a third credits early chord-based trigonometry, where a chord equal to the radius made a natural base. Greek astronomers such as Aristarchus and Hipparchus were among the first to use Babylonian astronomical knowledge systematically.

The number also divides well. 360 has 24 divisors and splits evenly by every whole number from 1 to 10 except 7, which suits a world cut into 24 time zones of 15 degrees of longitude each. Each degree breaks into 60 arcminutes, and each of those into 60 arcseconds. The SI Brochure lists the degree among the widely used non-SI units, equal to π/180 radian, about 0.01745. For scale, the Moon and the Sun each look about half a degree wide, and a little finger held at arm's length covers roughly one degree of sky.

1 degree = 0.002777777778 turns (approximately).

Sources: BIPM SI Brochure, 9th edition (2019); Wikipedia: Degree (angle); Wikipedia: Angular diameter

Related conversions

See all angle units.