How do I type the ÷ division sign symbol?

On Windows, type 00F7 and press Alt+X. You can also hold Alt and type 247 on the numeric keypad. On Linux press Ctrl+Shift+U then 00f7. On any system the quickest route is the copy button on this page.

What is the code for ÷?

Division Sign is U+00F7, written in HTML as &div; and in LaTeX as \div. In UTF-8 it takes 2 bytes. The table above lists every escape format.

U+00F7 · Math symbol

HTML entity

&div;

LaTeX

\div

Division Sign Symbol ÷

÷ is division sign, U+00F7 — \div in LaTeX. It was added in Unicode 1.1, and Unicode files it under Math symbol.

Also known as

obelus

What Unicode says about ÷

occasionally used as an alternate, more visually distinct shape for a hyphen in some contexts

historically used as a punctuation mark to denote questionable passages in manuscripts

— annotation from the Unicode Standard, NamesList.txt

Codes & technical data

Unicode	`U+00F7`
HTML hex	`÷`
HTML decimal	`÷`
CSS	`\00F7`
JavaScript	`\u{00F7}`
Python	`\U000000F7`
Java / C#	`\u00F7`
Rust	`\u{00f7}`
Swift	`\u{00F7}`
PHP	`\u{00F7}`
URL encoded	`%C3%B7`
UTF-8 bytes	`C3 B7`
UTF-16 bytes	`00F7`
Base64	`w7c=`
Decimal	`247`
HTML entity	`&div;`
LaTeX	`\div`
Category	Math symbol (Sm)
Introduced	Unicode 1.1

Will ÷ survive being pasted?

Normalisation. Yes. ÷ is unchanged by NFKC, so it survives normalising systems intact.
Legacy encodings. ÷ exists in Latin-1 and Windows-1252, so even software that predates Unicode can store it.
Size. 2 bytes in UTF-8. Character-limited fields — SMS, bios, some form validators — usually count bytes, not characters.

Unicode cross-references

The standard points readers of ÷ at these characters — usually because they look alike, or because one is the correct choice where the other is often used by mistake.

Other division characters

Unicode names 4 characters ending in “division”. They differ by direction, weight or decoration rather than by meaning.

Nearby in Latin-1 Supplement

The upper half of ISO 8859-1: the accented letters and the symbols that Western European printing needed but ASCII had no room for. This is where ° ± × ÷ £ ¥ © ® ½ ¼ live, which makes it the most-copied symbol block in Unicode despite being one of the oldest.

All 29 characters in Latin-1 Supplement →

How to type ÷

Windows	Type `00F7` then press `Alt`+`X`, or hold `Alt` and type `247` on the numeric keypad
macOS	Press `Ctrl`+`Cmd`+`Space`, then search for “division sign”
Linux	Press `Ctrl`+`Shift`+`U`, type `00f7`, press `Enter`
HTML	`&div;`

About Unicode’s Math symbol category

Unicode classifies this as a mathematical symbol, which means software that lays out formulas treats it as an operator or relation and gives it spacing accordingly, rather than setting it tight against its neighbours like a letter.

Frequently asked questions

How do I type the ÷ division sign symbol?: On Windows, type 00F7 and press Alt+X. You can also hold Alt and type 247 on the numeric keypad. On Linux press Ctrl+Shift+U then 00f7. On any system the quickest route is the copy button on this page.
What is the code for ÷?: Division Sign is U+00F7, written in HTML as &div; and in LaTeX as \div. In UTF-8 it takes 2 bytes. The table above lists every escape format.
What kind of character is ÷?: Division Sign is filed under Math symbol in the Latin-1 Supplement block, and was introduced in Unicode 1.1. Unicode classifies this as a mathematical symbol, which means software that lays out formulas treats it as an operator or relation and gives it spacing accordingly, rather than setting it tight against its neighbours like a letter.