When it comes to either buying or owning land, two very important factors are its type and area. These aspects come up during purchase, lease, or any other sort of financial exchange and they play a role in determining the land’s value at the time of sale.
In India, there are 6 main types of land, which are:
● Residential land
● Commercial land
● Agricultural land
● Farmland
● Real estate land
● Barren land
Each of these has their own value and guidelines. There are few similarities shared between these types and among the commonalities is the method by which area is calculated and stated. This is a standard that is generally followed across the country but given its diversity, there are a few local units of measurement to be aware of.
In the northern parts of the country, units such as Kattha, Kanal, Bigha, and Marla are to be expected, whereas in the south, you’ll find units such as Cent, Ground, and Guntha to be more common. Understanding these units and the differences between them can be difficult but not impossible.
Generally, however, global measurement units are used, and your task would be simply to learn how to convert from one to the other, for instance from acres to sq. ft. or hectares to acres. From a valuation standpoint, knowing all you can about the land area and its measurement is incredibly important. After all, this information is crucial to determining the true cost of the land. So, to give an overview and offer insight into the matter, consider these pointers.
How is land area measured?
Before you dive into learning how to convert acres into sq. ft or hectares to acres, you need to know the basics of land area measurement. Here, you start by multiplying the length and the width of the available land. This is the formula for the area of a rectangle.
Now, based on the unit used to measure the length and width, you can start converting your area to the required unit accordingly. For a table on the common land measurement units and their conversion factors, keep reading.
What are the common land area measurement units?
While different states in India will measure land by different units, there are standard units you can follow such as feet and metre. This helps everyone understand the figures accurately, and conversion between these standard units is easy too. Here is a list of some common land area measurement units and their conversions.
Unit |
Conversion factor |
1 Metre (m) |
3.2 ft |
1 Yard (yd) |
3 ft, 0.9 m |
1 Feet (ft) |
12 inches, 30.48cm |
1 Square feet (sq. ft.) |
144 sq. inches, 0.092 sq. m |
1 Square yard |
9 sq. ft, 0.836 sq. m |
1 Square metre (sq.m) |
10.76 sq.ft |
1 Acre |
4,840 sq.yd, 4,046.86 sq.m |
1 Hectare |
10,000 sq.m, 2.49 acres |
Refer to this table for easy conversions as it gives you the factor by which you need to multiply your figures by.
How do you convert acres to sq.ft?
To convert acres to sq.ft., all you need to do is multiply the area in acres by 43,560. For instance, 28 acres of land is 12,19,680 sq.ft. Acres are generally used to measure the area of agricultural land but converting to sq. ft. can come in handy during valuation.
How do you convert hectares to acres?
Similar to acres, hectares is another land area measurement unit used to measure agricultural land. To convert hectares to acres, all you need to do is multiply the area in hectares by 2.47. For instance, 35 hectares to acres is 86.49ac.
Calculating the area of land with global measurement units is a lot simpler and easier to follow. However, if you’re looking to own land in South India, expect the unit of measurement to be cent. For reference purposes, 1 cent equal 435.6 sq. ft. and you can use this to convert accordingly.
Alternatively, Northern India uses Bigha and here you may experience complications. This is simply because the understanding of Bigha varies with each state. For instance, in Gujarat, 1 Bigha is 17,427 sq. ft. whereas 1 Bigha in Punjab is 9,070 sq. ft. So, try your best to get area measurements in globally accepted units and carry out conversions like acres to sq. ft. and hectares to acres for greater simplicity.