World of Units
Pick a measurement convention and watch the planet split — then open any country's full Unit Passport.
🌍 Almost every country is metric — the US is essentially the only one still on US customary units.
Only three countries never fully completed metrication: 🇺🇸 United States, 🇱🇷 Liberia, 🇲🇲 Myanmar (Burma) — and even the last two are officially metric.
Bar reflects a curated sample of 52 countries spanning every region.
How the world measures
Most of the planet quietly agrees on how to measure things — but a few famous holdouts make the everyday world surprisingly diverse. Below is a sourced snapshot of six conventions across a curated sample of countries. Values reflect each country's primary, officially used convention; partial adoption and exceptions exist, so claims are kept conservative.
- Measurement system 🌍 Almost every country is metric — the US is essentially the only one still on US customary units. ↗
- Temperature scale 🌡️ Only about 8 countries and territories use Fahrenheit for everyday temperatures. ↗
- Driving side 🚗 About 75 countries drive on the left — roughly a third of the world. ↗
- Paper size 📄 Only the US, Canada, Mexico and a handful of others default to US Letter — the rest of the world uses A4. ↗
- Date format 📅 Month-Day-Year is almost unique to the US and a handful of US-linked nations. ↗
- First day of week 🗓️ A small group of Middle East & North Africa countries start the week on Saturday. ↗
| 🌍 | Measurement system | Temperature scale | Driving side | Paper size | Date format | First day of week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Australia | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Bahamas | Imperial (mixed) | Fahrenheit (°F) | Drive on the left | US Letter | Month-Day-Year | Sunday |
| Belize | Imperial (mixed) | Fahrenheit (°F) | Drive on the right | US Letter | Month-Day-Year | Sunday |
| Bhutan | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Year-Month-Day | Sunday |
| Brazil | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Canada | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | US Letter | Year-Month-Day | Sunday |
| Cayman Islands | Imperial (mixed) | Fahrenheit (°F) | Drive on the left | US Letter | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Chile | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | US Letter | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| China | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Year-Month-Day | Monday |
| Colombia | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | US Letter | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Egypt | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Saturday |
| France | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Germany | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Hungary | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Year-Month-Day | Monday |
| India | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Indonesia | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Iran | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Year-Month-Day | Saturday |
| Ireland | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Israel | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Italy | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Japan | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Year-Month-Day | Sunday |
| Kenya | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Liberia | Metric (SI) | Fahrenheit (°F) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Month-Day-Year | Sunday |
| Lithuania | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Year-Month-Day | Monday |
| Malaysia | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Marshall Islands | Metric (SI) | Fahrenheit (°F) | Drive on the right | US Letter | Month-Day-Year | Sunday |
| Mexico | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | US Letter | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Micronesia | Metric (SI) | Fahrenheit (°F) | Drive on the right | US Letter | Month-Day-Year | Sunday |
| Mongolia | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Year-Month-Day | Monday |
| Morocco | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Myanmar (Burma) | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Netherlands | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| New Zealand | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Nigeria | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Pakistan | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Palau | Metric (SI) | Fahrenheit (°F) | Drive on the right | US Letter | Month-Day-Year | Sunday |
| Peru | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Philippines | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | US Letter | Month-Day-Year | Sunday |
| Poland | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Russia | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Saudi Arabia | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| Singapore | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| South Africa | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Year-Month-Day | Sunday |
| South Korea | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Year-Month-Day | Sunday |
| Spain | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| Sweden | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Year-Month-Day | Monday |
| Taiwan | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Year-Month-Day | Sunday |
| Thailand | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Sunday |
| United Arab Emirates | Metric (SI) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the right | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| United Kingdom | Imperial (mixed) | Celsius (°C) | Drive on the left | ISO A-series (A4) | Day-Month-Year | Monday |
| United States | US customary | Fahrenheit (°F) | Drive on the right | US Letter | Month-Day-Year | Sunday |
Sources
How to use it
Tap a dimension to see the global split, the minority flags, and a proportion bar. Then search for any country and open its Unit Passport to see all six conventions at once.
Frequently asked questions
Is the US really the only country not on the metric system?
For everyday use, yes — the US is the only country that uses US customary units as its primary system. Liberia and Myanmar are often mentioned too, but both are officially metric and only partly metricated, while the UK keeps imperial units in mixed everyday use (miles, pints) alongside official metric.
Which countries use Fahrenheit?
Only about eight countries and territories use Fahrenheit as the everyday temperature scale: the US, the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Liberia. Everywhere else uses Celsius.
How many countries drive on the left?
About 75 countries drive on the left — roughly a third of the world by country count — including the UK, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and much of Southeast Asia.
Why does the first day of the week differ?
ISO 8601 and most of Europe start the week on Monday. The US and much of the Americas (plus Japan and Israel) start on Sunday, and several Middle East / North Africa countries historically start on Saturday.
Related tools
Need to actually convert between these systems? Try our unit converter, or generate the right paper template with the paper size guide.
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