Centimeters to Meters
A meter has 100 centimeters, so divide centimeters by 100, moving the decimal point two places left, to get meters: 175 cm is 1.75 m and 8 cm is 0.08 m.
1 centimeter = 0.01 meters
1 cm = 0.01 m · multiply by 0.01
Height in meters for BMI and medical formulas
Body mass index is defined as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared, so a height measured in centimeters has to become meters first. For someone 175 cm tall weighing 70 kg, 175 cm is 1.75 m, 1.75 squared is 3.0625, and 70 ÷ 3.0625 gives a BMI of 22.9. Plugging 175 straight into the formula instead gives 0.0023, an obviously wrong result.
Other clinical formulas, such as body surface area used for some drug doses, also expect meters or centimeters specifically, so always check which unit the formula is written for before entering a height.
Centimeters to meters conversion table
Rounded to six significant digits. Change any value in the converter above for an exact figure.
| Centimeters (cm) | Meters (m) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.01 |
| 2 | 0.02 |
| 3 | 0.03 |
| 4 | 0.04 |
| 5 | 0.05 |
| 6 | 0.06 |
| 7 | 0.07 |
| 8 | 0.08 |
| 9 | 0.09 |
| 10 | 0.1 |
| 12 | 0.12 |
| 15 | 0.15 |
| 20 | 0.2 |
| 25 | 0.25 |
| 30 | 0.3 |
| 40 | 0.4 |
| 50 | 0.5 |
| 60 | 0.6 |
| 70 | 0.7 |
| 75 | 0.75 |
| 80 | 0.8 |
| 90 | 0.9 |
| 100 | 1 |
| Meters (m) | Centimeters (cm) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 100 |
| 2 | 200 |
| 3 | 300 |
| 4 | 400 |
| 5 | 500 |
| 6 | 600 |
| 7 | 700 |
| 8 | 800 |
| 9 | 900 |
| 10 | 1,000 |
| 12 | 1,200 |
| 15 | 1,500 |
| 20 | 2,000 |
| 25 | 2,500 |
| 30 | 3,000 |
| 40 | 4,000 |
| 50 | 5,000 |
| 60 | 6,000 |
| 70 | 7,000 |
| 75 | 7,500 |
| 80 | 8,000 |
| 90 | 9,000 |
| 100 | 10,000 |
How to convert centimeters to meters
m = cm × 0.01
1 cm = 0.01 m
25 cm × 0.01 = 0.25 m
- Start with the value in centimeters.
- Multiply it by 0.01.
- Round the result to the precision the job needs: whole numbers for everyday use, more decimals for engineering or recipes.
Fabric, flooring and parcels
Fabric, rope, cable and curtain rails are sold by the meter in metric countries, while the measurement you take at home is usually in centimeters. A window 245 cm wide needs 2.45 m of rail, which most shops round up to the next 10 or 50 cm. Flooring works similarly: a 380 cm room is 3.8 m long, and you order by area in square meters.
Couriers set size limits in both. A parcel limit of 120 cm on the longest side is 1.2 m, and a combined length-plus-girth limit of 300 cm is 3 m. Measure in centimeters, convert once, and compare to the published figure rather than mixing the two.
Small values and the missing zero
Values under 100 cm become decimals under one meter, and those under 10 cm need a leading zero after the point. 5 cm is 0.05 m, not 0.5 m; 50 cm is 0.5 m. Writing two decimal places every time avoids the slip.
For the opposite direction, see meters to centimeters. Feet, inches and the rest of the lengths are in the unit converter.
Frequently asked questions
- How many meters is 180 cm?
- 180 cm is 1.8 m. In feet and inches that is about 5 ft 11 in.
- Why does my BMI come out tiny when I enter centimeters?
- The BMI formula divides by height in meters squared. Using 170 instead of 1.70 makes the divisor 10,000 times too large.
- What is 45 cm in meters?
- 45 cm is 0.45 m, a little under half a meter.
- How many centimeters does one meter hold?
- One meter is 100 cm; the prefix centi means one hundredth.