The unit is not used much; it is closely related to the nautical mile, which was originally determined as 1 minute of arc along a great circle of the Earth and is nowadays defined to be exactly 1852 metres.
The Danish and German geographical mile (mil and Meile) is 4 minutes of arc, and was defined as 7421.5 metres by the astronomer Ole RÝmer of Denmark. In Norway and Sweden, this geographical mile was only used at sea. See also historical weights and measures.
In France there was also a geographical league, see historical weights and measures.
See mile for the various other miles in use, and also conversion of units.