Earth rotates once every 24 hours, and at the equator that works out to roughly 1,670 km/h (about 1,040 mph) along the surface.

Basic rotation speed

  • Earth completes one full turn (360 degrees) in about 24 hours, giving an angular speed of about 7.29×10−57.29\times 10^{-5}7.29×10−5 radians per second.
  • Because Earth is widest at the equator, the surface speed there is about 1,674.7 km/h (1,040.6 mph).

Why speed changes with location

  • The farther you are from the equator, the smaller the circle you trace out in a day, so your surface speed decreases with latitude.
  • At the poles, your speed from rotation is essentially zero: you are just turning in place once per day.

Other motions in space

  • While Earth spins, it also orbits the Sun at about 107,000 km/h (around 67,000 mph).
  • So even while you “only” feel a day passing, you are being carried both around Earth’s axis and around the Sun at enormous speeds.

A quick mental picture

  • Imagine standing on a giant rotating turntable: people near the edge (the equator) zip around fastest, while those near the center (the poles) barely move sideways at all.
  • Earth’s huge size makes that edge speed reach over a thousand miles per hour, even though it feels completely calm and still on the surface.

TL;DR: At the equator the Earth’s surface spins at about 1,670 km/h (1,040 mph), slowing toward zero at the poles, while the whole planet orbits the Sun at about 107,000 km/h.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.