The position of a place north or south of the equator is measured in ?

The positions north and south are measured in degrees latitude. Opposite to this, west and east of greenwich is measured in degrees longitude. That's why when determining a position you would say that something is 40 degrees north and 74 degrees west, and this exact position would point to New York City. The first number is how north above the equator it is and the second number how much west from Greenwich it is.