New Zealand has used the metric system since 1976 when the government passed the Weights and Measurements Amendment Act. Until this time, weights and measurements followed the old imperial system. Today, there are still references to this older system such as in skydiving whereby operators will usually give the heights of jumps in feet rather than metres, for example 8000 feet instead of 2400 metres. Weights of people can be a little more confusing being measured in kilograms, pounds or stones (1 stone = 14 pounds).

Car speedometers and posted speed limits are in kilometres per hour (kph), and road sign distances are in kilometres. Gas is sold per litre (l), and temperature is in degrees Celsius (°C).

To calculate temperature from Celsius into Farenheit, multiply °C by 1.8 and then add 32.