AWG to mm²

Conversion from AWG to mm² - Strand construction and AWG tables

Cross-section of AWG in mm²
Table of common AWG sizes in mm²
How to calculate the cross-section of an AWG cable
Calculating the cross-section of AWG stranded cables in mm²
Electrical properties of AWG stranded wires
Cross-section of multi- and fine-core AWG cables at a glance
AWG current carrying capacity
Frequently asked questions about AWG

Part 1 of our guide series "Converting units" deals with the topic of converting AWG to mm². The following question often arises among laypeople, who often only have experience with metric cable cross-sections: What does AWG mean for a cable?

The designation AWG (American Wire Gauge) is used to describe the diameter and cross-section of electrical conductors made of non-ferrous metals. This applies to both single core cables and stranded wires. The AWG system was developed back in 1857 by the American Joseph Rogers Brown and introduced to the market by the company Brown & Sharpe.

The measurement for AWG is based on the number of drawing steps required for wire production in order to achieve a certain wire diameter. For the diameter required at the end of the process, or the cross-section of the wire, a thicker solid conductor is drawn through a drawing tool that has an opening that tapers towards the back.

Important and decisive for all dimensions of AWG cables: The wire diameter can only be reduced in small steps, so that several passes with ever smaller openings of the drawing tool are always required to achieve the desired diameter.

America Wire Gauge - AWG for short - is mainly used in English-speaking countries, where it is also known by the name of the inventor and the first company to introduce this unit of measurement in 1857: Brown & Sharpe wire gauge. In addition to the USA, AWG is now also recognised as an important unit for wire diameters in other industrialised countries around the world.

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Please note here:

The cable cross-section is not the same as the diameter of a cable. This is because, compared to the diameter, which is a measure of length, the cross-section of a cable is a measure of area. Also important: The current carrying capacity of a cable increases proportionally with the cross-section of the cable.

You can read all about this topic in our guide article on cable cross-section.

Cable cross-sections of common AWG sizes at a glance:

We have summarised other common AWG cable sizes, their respective diameter in inches and mm, as well as the AWG cable cross-section in kcmil and mm², in the following AWG table. It also provides information about the cable cross-section of common AWG cables in inches.

AWG size	Cable diameter in inches (decimal value)	Cable diameter in mm	Cross-section in kcmil (MCM)	Cross-section in mm²
0		8.25		53.4
1		7.35		42.4
2		6.54		33.6
3		5.83		26.7
4		5.19		21.2
5		4.62		16.8
6		4.11		13.3
7		3.67		10.6
8		3.26		8.34
9		2.91		6.62
10	0.102	2.59	10.4	5.26
11	0.0907	2.3		4.17
12	0.0808	2.05	6.53	3.31
13	0.072	1.83		2.62
14	0.0641	1.63	4.11	2.08
15	0.0571	1.45		1.65
16	0.0508	1.29	2.58	1.31
17	0.0453	1.15		1.038
18	0.0403	1.024	1.62	0.823
19	0.0359	0.912		0.653
20	0.032	0.812	1.02	0.518
21	0.0285	0.723		0.41
22	0.0254	0.644	0.64	0.326
23	0.0226	0.573		0.258
24	0.0201	0.511	0.404	0.205
25	0.0179	0.455		0.162
26	0.0159	0.405		0.129
27	0.0142	0.361		0.102
28	0.0126	0.321		0.081
29	0.0113	0.286		0.0642
30	0.01	0.255		0.051
31	0.227		0.0404
32	0.202		0.032
33	0.18		0.0254
34	0.16		0.0201
35	0.143		0.016
36	0.005	0.127		0.0127
37	0.113		0.01
38	0.101
39	0.0897
40	0.0799
41	0.0028	0.0711
42	0.0632
43	0.0564		0.0025
44	0.05
45	0.0447
46	0.0399
47	0.0014	0.0355
48	0.0316
49	0.0011	0.0281
50	0.025

MCM	Cable diameter in mm	Cross-section in mm²
1000	29.3	507
900	27.8	456
750	25.4	380
600	22.7	304
550	21.7	279
500	20.7	253
450	19.6	228
400	18.5	203
350	17.3	177
300	16.0	152
250	14.6	127

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How do you calculate the cross-section of an AWG cable?

Metric NYM cables with common conductor cross-sections pose no problems for professionals and experienced laymen alike, so they can be used safely and without loss of performance in all common applications. However, things get tricky with cables that are more exotic in this country, such as those that comply with the US cable standard AWG.

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Caution is advised with such wires, depending on the intended use. While there are precisely defined specifications based on standards for metric wires as to how large the cross-section of a cable must be, the situation is somewhat different for AWG cables.

The good news is that in most cases, all you need to do is look at one of our AWG tables. One that shows the diameter or cable cross-section of an equivalent metric cable.

To convert the cross-section of an AWG cable into mm², you first need the ratio "a", or the diameter ratio, which is defined by the value 1.1229322. Using the following formula, the diameter in mm can be determined from the AWG dimension of a solid wire.

AWG Formel

Step 1: Calculating the cross-sectional area of an AWG cable

To determine the cross-sectional area of an AWG cable and convert it into a metric dimension such as mm², for example, you need the diameter of the respective AWG cable.

Diameter = 0.127×92^36-AWG/39

Using this value, it is possible in the next step to calculate the cross-section of an AWG cable in mm².

Step 2: Calculating the cross-sectional area of an AWG cable

With the value determined in this way, the cable cross-section - defined as the circular area of a cable cut at right angles to the running direction, e.g. in mm² - is then calculated using the following formula:

A=r² * π = d² * π/4

In this case,A corresponds to the area in square millimetres r stands for the radius of the cable, which is multiplied by the circle number Pi, and d for the previously determined diameter of the cable.

Or:

To determine the cross-section without a calculator, we have listed the common AWG sizes and their cable cross-section in mm² and kcmil (MCM) in the table above.

Calculate the cross-section of AWG stranded cables in mm²

In addition to AWG cables as solid conductors, this type of cable is also available in the form of multicore or fine-core cables.
Important here - A cable or a conductor bundle consisting of several of these fine wires is referred to as a stranded wire. If one of these strands is coated with an insulating layer, it is referred to as a core cable. An AWG cable - or an NYM cable - that carries a single one of these core wires is therefore referred to as a single core wire.

Aside from the question of the designations for current-carrying wires, the following question often arises: How do you convert the cross-section of AWG stranded wires into a metric measurement (mm²)?

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Cross-section of multi- and fine-core AWG cables at a glance

For a quick conversion of the cross-sectional area of AWG stranded wire into a metric dimension - in this case mm² - we have summarised the common AWG sizes and the metric equivalent in the following AWG stranded wire table.

Sizes AWG	10	12	14	16	18
Number of individual wires x AWG sizes (single-wire conductor)	37x26 49x27 105x30	7x20 19x26 60x30 165x34	7x22 19x27 41x30 105x34	7x24 19x28 26x30 65x34 105x36	7x26 16x30 19x32 41x34 65x36

Sizes AWG	20	22	24	26	27
Number of individual wires x AWG sizes (single-wire conductor)	7x28 10x30 19x32 26x34 41x36	7x30 19x34 26x36	7x32 10x34 19x36 41x40	7x34 10x36 19x38	7x35

Sizes AWG	28	30	32	34	36
Number of individual wires x AWG sizes (single-wire conductor)	7x36 19x40	7x38 19x42	7x40 19x44	7x42	7x44

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For a better understanding of the values listed in the table, we will explain the principle of determining the cross-section using an AWG 32 7×40 cable. The first parameter is a multi-core cable, which in this case has a size of AWG 32. However, the two subsequent values are decisive for calculating the cross-section:

- The first value, 7, indicates the number of individual strands in the AWG cable

- The second value, 40, corresponds to the AWG value of a single-wire conductor

Note: The cross-section in mm² of the AWG 40 cable can be taken from our AWG table or calculated using a formula

Example calculation to determine the cross-section of a multi-core/fine-core AWG cable:
A cable with the designation AWG 32 7×40 is a cable with 7 strands, each of which has a cross-section of AWG 40. Converted into a metric measurement, the individual strands together have the following thickness: 0.00501 mm² * 7= 0.03507 mm² (cross-section of a fine-core cable of sizes AWG 40 × 7= total cross-section in square centimetres)

Electrical properties of AWG stranded wires

As already described, when connecting bundled AWG stranded conductors, it must be borne in mind that the electrical properties (e.g. resistance) of AWG stranded conductors with the same AWG rating sometimes differ considerably from those of an AWG solid conductor. For this reason, the electrical cross-section of a stranded wire with the same AWG number does not correspond to that of an AWG solid wire.

The reason for this is the unavoidable air-filled cavities between the stranded or fine-stranded conductors. As a rule of thumb, AWG cables with stranded and fine-stranded conductors have a total diameter that is 13 to 14 per cent larger than an AWG cable with solid conductors.

Note: kcmil (kilo circular mils) or MCM (1000 Circ. Mils) is a common area measurement for specifying the cross-section of AWG cables. One kcmil corresponds to 1000 cmil (MCM).

A cmil is defined as the area of a circle with a diameter equal to one thousandth of an inch (2.54 cm). 1 cmil therefore has an area of 0.0005067 square millimetres, which means that one kcmil corresponds to 0.5067 mm².

Note: kcmil (kilo circular mils) or MCM (1000 Circ. Mils) is a common area measurement for specifying the cross-section of AWG cables. One kcmil is equal to 1000 cmil (MCM).

AWG current carrying capacity

A question often arises among laypeople who are working with AWG cables for the first time: How do you convert the diameter of an AWG cable into a metric measurement? Among other things, this measurement is needed to calculate the cross-section. This is particularly important if metric terminals are used for electrical installation and an equivalent terminal is to be used quickly for an AWG cable.

As described above, a simple formula can be used to convert the cross-section of an AWG dimension into square millimetres. All you need in this case is the AWG code number "a". This is defined by the value 1.1229322 and can be used as a constant to calculate the metric measurement.

A simple formula for converting the diameter of an AWG cable into a metric dimension, e.g. in mm:

Cross-section = 0.127×92^36-AWG/39

Typical AWG cable sizes and their respective diameters in inches and mm are summarised above in our AWG table. Information on the current carrying capacity of AWG cables can be found in the following AWG current table.

Current carrying capacity of flexible AWG cables (single core cables)
AWG sizes	Cable cross-section in mm²	Current carrying capacity in amperes
1	42.38	180 A
2	33.61	170 A
3	26.65	154 A
4	21.14	120 A
6	13.29	95 A
8	8.35	75 A
10	5.26	52 A
12	3.32	34 A
14	2.08	24 A
16	1.31	20 A
18	0.82	9.5 A
20	0.52	6.0 A
22	0.33	5.0 A
24	0.21	3.5 A

Current carrying capacity of multi-core AWG cables
AWG sizes	Cable cross-section in mm²	Current-carrying capacity in amperes for up to 3 cores	Current carrying capacity in amperes for 4 to 6 cores	Current-carrying capacity in amperes with 7 to 24 cores	Current-carrying capacity in amperes with 25 to 42 cores	Current-carrying capacity in amperes with 43 and more cores
1	42.38	110.00 A	88.00 A	77.00 A	66.00 A	55.00 A
2	33.61	95.00 A	76.00 A	66.00 A	57.00 A	47.00 A
3	26.65	80.00 A	64.00 A	56.00 A	48.00 A	40.00 A
4	21.14	70.00 A	56.00 A	49.00 A	42.00 A	35.00 A
6	13.29	55.00 A	44.00 A	38.00 A	33.00 A	27.00 A
8	8.35	40.00 A	32.00 A	28.00 A	24.00 A	20.00 A
10	5.26	30.00 A	24.00 A	21.00 A	18.00 A	15.00 A
12	3.32	20.00 A	16.00 A	14.00 A	12.00 A	10.00 A
14	2.08	15.00 A	12.00 A	10.50 A	9.00 A	7.50 A
16	1.31	10.00 A	8.00 A	7.00 A	6.00 A	5.00 A
18	0.82	7.00 A	5.60 A	4.90 A	4.20 A	3.50 A
20	0.52	5.00 A	4.00 A	3.50 A	3.00 A	2.50 A
22	0.33	3.00 A	2.40 A	2.10 A	1.80 A	1.50 A
24	0.21	2.00 A	1.60 A	1.40 A	1.20 A	1.00 A

Manufacturers such as Lapp - known for its Ölflex Classic 110 cables, which can be found in our extensive range - also provide detailed information on the current carrying capacity of AWG cables. We have summarised an excerpt of the technical tables, which are available as a PDF on the Lapp website, in a Lapp AWG cable table below.

Conductor cross-section AWG Sizes or kcmil (MCM)	Current rating in A at a permissible continuous temperature on the conductor			Conductor cross-section AWG Sizes or kcmil (MCM)	Load capacity in A at a permissible continuous temperature on the conductor
ambient temperature °C	60 °C	75 °C	90 °C		60 °C	75 °C	90 °C
18	-	-	14*	18	-	-	18
16	-	-	18*	16	-	-	24
14	15*	20*	25*	14	25*	30*	35*
12	20*	25*	30*	12	30*	35*	40*
10	30*	35*	40*	10	40*	50*	55*
8	40	50	55	8	60	70	80
6	55	65	75	6	80	95	105
4	70	85	95	4	105	125	140
3	85	100	115	3	120	145	165
2	95	115	130	2	140	170	190
1	110	130	145	1	165	195	220
1/0	125	150	170	1/0	195	230	260
2/0	145	175	195	2/0	225	265	300
3/0	165	200	225	3/0	260	310	350
4/0	195	230	260	4/0	300	360	405
250	215	255	290	250	340	405	455
300	240	285	320	300	375	445	500
350	260	310	350	350	420	505	570
400	280	335	380	400	455	545	615
500	320	380	430	500	515	620	700
600	350	420	475	600	575	690	780

Correction factors for ambient temperatures deviating from 30 °C				Correction factors for more than 3 loaded cores in a cable duct, pipe or multi-core wires
Environmental temperature °C	60 °C	75 °C	90 °C	Number of loaded cores	Correction factor
21 - 25	1.08	1.05	1.04	4 to 6	0.80
26 - 30	1.00	1.00	1.00	7 to 9	0.70
31 - 35	0.91	0.94	0.96	10 to 20	0.50
36 - 40	0.82	0.88	0.91	21 to 30	0.45
41 - 45	0.71	0.82	0.87	31 to 40	0.40
46 - 50	0.58	0.75	0.82	41 and more	0.35
51 - 55	0.41	0.67	0.76
56 - 60	-	0.58	0.71
61 - 65	-	0.47	0.65
66 - 70	-	0.33	0.58
71 - 75	-	-	0.50
76 - 80	-	-	0.41
81 - 85	-	-	0.29

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*NEC 240.4(D) should be followed for overcurrent protection of wires. According to NEC 240.4(D) (National Electrical Code Basics), unless specifically permitted in 240.4(E) or (G), the overcurrent protection shall not exceed that permitted by D 1 through D 7 after application of correction factors for ambient temperature and number of conductors.

Cable cross-section AWG/inch?

In addition to cables with metric sizes, cables are often also specified according to AWG - the American measure for wire sizes. The following applies to the cable cross-section according to AWG: The wire diameter decreases depending on how long a wire is drawn. The smaller the resulting cable cross-section, the larger the AWG value.

The respective cable cross-sections of an AWG cable can be found in the following table:

AWG-No.	AWG designation	∅ in inches	Area in inches²	∅ in mm	area in mm²	Resistance in Ω/km	Metric in mm²
-6	0000000 (7/0)	0.6513	0.3332	16.54	215.0	-
-5	000000 (6/0)	0.5801	0.2644	14.74	170.6	0.10	185
-4	00000 (5/0)	0.5166	0.2096	13.12	135.3	0.13	150
-3	0000 (4/0)	0.4600	0.1662	11.68	107.2	0.17	120
-2	000 (3/0)	0.4096	0.1318	10.40	85.01	0.21	95
-1	00 (2/0)	0.3648	0.1045	9.266	67.43	0.26	70
0	(1/0)	0.3249	8.252	53.49	0.33
1	-	0.2893	7.348	42.41	0.42	50
2	-	0.2576	6.543	33.62	0.53	35
3	-	0.2294	5.827	26.67	0.67
4	-	0.2043	5.189	21.15	0.84	25
5	-	0.1819	4.620	16.77	1.06
6	-	0.1620	4.115	13.30	1.34	16
7	-	0.1443	3.665	10.55	1.69
8	-	0.1285	3.264	8.367	2.13	10
9	-	0.1144	2.906	6.632	2.68
10	-	0.1019	2.588	5.261	3.38
11	-	2.305	4.172	4.27
12	-	2.052	3.309	5.38	4
13	-	1.828	2.624	6.78
14	-	1.628	2.081	8.55	2.5
15	-	1.45	1.65	10.79
16	-	1.291	1.309	13.6	1.5
17	-	1.15	1.038	17.15
18	-	0.0403	1.024	0.8229	21.63	1
19	-	0.9116	0.6527	27.27	0.75
20	-	0.8118	0.5176	34.39	0.75
21	-	0.7229	0.4104	43.37	0.5
22	-	0.6439	0.3256	54.66	0.34
23	-	0.5733	0.2581	68.96
24	-	0.0201	0.0003173	0.5105	0.2047	86.95	0.25
25	-	0.0179	0.4547	0.1624	109.6
26	-	0.4049	0.1288	138.3	0.14
27	-	0.0142	0.3607	0.1022	174.2
28	-	0.3211	219.9	0.09
29	-	0.286	277.1
30	-	0.2548	349.2
31	-	0.2268	440.7
32	-	0.2019	555.8
33	-	0.1798	0.0254	700.8
34	-	0.1601	883.7
35	-	0.1426	1114
36	-	0.005	0.127	1405
37	-	0.1131	1771
38	-	0.1007	2234
39	-	2817
40	-	3551
41	-	0.0028	4480
42	-	5665
43	-	7127
44	-	9051
45	-	0.0447	11340
46	-	14251
47	-	18021
48	-	22725
49	-	28657
50	-	36136

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Frequently asked questions about AWG

What is the cable cross-section of AWG 4 in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 4 AWG corresponds to 21.15 mm²

What is the cable cross-section of AWG 6 in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 6 AWG corresponds to 13.30 mm²

What is the cable cross-section of AWG 8 in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 8 AWG corresponds to 8.37 mm²

What is the cable cross-section of AWG 10 in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 10 AWG corresponds to 5.26 mm²

What is the cable cross-section of AWG 12 in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 12 AWG corresponds to 3.31 mm²

What is the cable cross-section of AWG 14 in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 14 AWG corresponds to 2.08 mm²

What is the cable cross-section of AWG 16 in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 16 AWG corresponds to 1.31 mm²

What is the cable cross-section of AWG 18 in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 18 AWG corresponds to 0.823 mm²

What is the cross-section of AWG 20 cable in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 20 AWG corresponds to 0.518 mm²

What is the cross-section of AWG 22 cable in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 22 AWG corresponds to 0.326 mm²

What is the cable cross-section of AWG 24 in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 24 AWG corresponds to 0.205 mm²

What is the cross-section of AWG 32 cable in mm²? The cross-section of a cable with the dimension 32 AWG corresponds to 0.0320 mm².

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