Calculating Length and Girth

It is important to know how to calculate the length and girth of your packages, as delivery services will commonly ask you for these measurements. More specifically, they will ask for the combined length and girth. They use this figure to help determine the cost of shipping your package.

First let’s define what length and girth are.

The length is the longest side of your package—easy enough. But what is the girth of a package? Girth is the number you get when you measure all the way around the middle of your package. Think of it as your package’s waistline.

How do you calculate girth?

You can determine the girth of your package by measuring the four shortest sides and adding them together. Alternatively, you can simply measure the width and the height, add them together, and then multiply by 2. Like this:

Width + Height x 2

Let’s say you have a box that measures 25cm x 20cm x 10cm. In this case, the width and height are 20cm and 10cm. So the girth is:

20 + 10 x 2 = 60cm.

How do you calculate the combined length and girth?

You can arrive at the combined length and girth of a package by simply adding the two measurements together.

If your box has a length of 15cm and a girth of 30cm, the equation is:

15 + 30

Therefore, the combined length and girth of your package is 45cm.