Degree Symbol in Geographic Coordinate System

The latitude and longitude system is written in degrees (°). Latitude is a measurement of location north or south of the Equator which has a latitude of 0 degrees (0°). The Equator is designated as the 0° latitude and passes through 11 countries of the world including Brazil, Kenya, Indonesia, Ecuador, Maldives, etc. The equator divides our planet into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. There are 180 imaginary lines (also known as parallels) that form circles around the Earth east-west, parallel to the Equator.

Longitude is a measurement of location east or west of the prime meridian at Greenwich in London. The Prime Meridian is defined to be 0° for longitude coordinates, so everything is referenced from here. This line passes through Greenwich, England. Degrees of longitude is divided into 60 minutes. And then each minute is divided into 60 seconds.

Degrees Minutes Seconds (DMS) is a special type of unit used for measuring angles. One minute is equivalent to 60 seconds. One degree is one hour, which is equal to 60 minutes or 3600 seconds. For example, Rome, Italy is located at the latitude 41° 53' 26.016" N, longitude 12° 29' 39.372" E. Or Paris is located at the latitude 48° 51' 23.8068" N and longitude 2° 21' 7.9992" E.