Acres, Hectares, Bigha and Guntha: Land Area Units Explained
An acre is 43,560 sq ft and a hectare is 2.471 acres. Regional land units are trickier because the same name can mean different sizes in different places.
13 July 2026 · 7 min read · Property
Land is measured in more local units than almost anything else. A farm might be sold in hectares, registered in acres and described by neighbours in bigha or guntha.
The international units
- 1 acre = 43,560 sq ft = 4,046.86 m²
- 1 hectare = 10,000 m² = 2.471 acres
- 1 square kilometre = 100 hectares = 247.1 acres
- 1 square mile = 640 acres = 259 hectares
A quick mental check: a hectare is about two and a half acres, and an acre is roughly the size of an American football field without the end zones.
South Asian land units
These are the values used by the ZapUnits area converter. Several of them vary by state or district, so always check the local definition used in the land record.
| Unit | Square feet | Square metres | Where it is common |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cent | 435.6 | 40.47 | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka |
| Guntha | 1,089 | 101.17 | Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka |
| Ground | 2,400 | 222.97 | Chennai |
| Marla | 272.25 | 25.29 | Punjab, Haryana, Pakistan |
| Kanal | 5,445 | 505.86 | Punjab, Haryana, Pakistan |
| Katha | 1,361.25 | 126.46 | Parts of North and East India |
| Bigha (pucca) | 27,225 | 2,529.29 | Punjab, Haryana, Himachal |
Useful relationships:
- 100 cents = 1 acre
- 40 guntha = 1 acre
- 20 marla = 1 kanal, and 8 kanal = 1 acre
Why bigha causes disputes
The bigha has no single national value. Depending on the state, it can be around a third of an acre or more than half of one. The value above is the pucca bigha of north-western India. In West Bengal, Assam, Bihar or Rajasthan it may be quite different, and some districts use a smaller kachha bigha as well.
Before buying or selling land, confirm the size in square feet or square metres as shown on the official record, and have the conversion checked by the registering authority or a qualified surveyor.
Built-up area vs land area
For flats and houses, prices are usually quoted per square foot of carpet, built-up or super built-up area. These can differ by 20–30% for the same home. Converting units correctly does not help if the two figures measure different things.
Related conversions
This article is for general information. Please verify figures against the relevant standard before using them in critical work. About accuracy