Area measurement is a mess. The world uses hectares, the US uses acres, and India uses both plus bigha, katha, cent, and guntha depending on which state you're in. This guide untangles it all.
The Three Measurement Systems
Metric System (International)
| Unit | Size | Used In | |------|------|---------| | Square millimeter | 0.000001 sq m | Engineering drawings | | Square centimeter | 0.0001 sq m | Small objects | | Square meter | 1 sq m | Floor plans, rooms | | Are | 100 sq m | Rarely used | | Hectare | 10,000 sq m | Agriculture, land | | Square kilometer | 1,000,000 sq m | Cities, districts |
Imperial System (US/UK)
| Unit | Size | Used In | |------|------|---------| | Square inch | 0.000645 sq m | Small components | | Square foot | 0.0929 sq m | Apartments, houses | | Square yard | 0.836 sq m | Carpet, fabric | | Acre | 4,046.86 sq m | Land, farms | | Square mile | 2.59 sq km | Counties, states |
Indian Traditional Units
| Unit | Size (approx) | Region | |------|--------------|--------| | Bigha | 907–2,529 sq m | North India (varies) | | Katha | 126–668 sq m | Bihar, UP, Bengal | | Cent | 40.47 sq m | South India | | Ground | 266.67 sq m | Tamil Nadu | | Guntha | 101.17 sq m | Maharashtra | | Biswa | 63.23 sq m | UP, Uttarakhand | | Marla | 25.29 sq m | Punjab, Haryana | | Kanal | 505.86 sq m | Punjab, Jammu |
Master Conversion Table (All Through Square Meters)
| Unit | → Square Meters | Unit | → Square Meters | |------|----------------|------|----------------| | 1 sq inch | 0.000645 | 1 bigha (UP) | 1,337.8 | | 1 sq foot | 0.0929 | 1 bigha (Punjab) | 907 | | 1 sq yard | 0.836 | 1 katha | 126.46 | | 1 sq meter | 1 | 1 cent | 40.47 | | 1 acre | 4,046.86 | 1 guntha | 101.17 | | 1 hectare | 10,000 | 1 ground | 266.67 | | 1 sq km | 1,000,000 | 1 marla | 25.29 |
Real Estate Calculations
Property Size Comparison
You're comparing two listings:
- Listing A: "3 bigha" in Lucknow, UP
- Listing B: "1.2 acres" in Nashik, Maharashtra
Convert both to sq meters:
- 3 bigha × 1,337.8 = 4,013.4 sq m
- 1.2 acres × 4,046.86 = 4,856.2 sq m
Listing B is about 21% larger.
Price Per Unit Area
If a 1200 sq ft apartment costs ₹60 lakh:
- Price per sq ft = ₹60,00,000 / 1,200 = ₹5,000/sq ft
- Price per sq m = ₹60,00,000 / 111.48 = ₹53,822/sq m
Agricultural Yield Per Hectare
A farmer harvests 45 quintals of wheat from 2 hectares:
- Yield = 45/2 = 22.5 quintals/hectare
- In per acre: 22.5/2.471 = 9.1 quintals/acre
The Trench Truth: In Indian real estate, carpet area (actual usable floor area) is typically 25-30% less than the super area (total area including walls, balconies, common spaces). A "1200 sq ft super area" apartment might have only 850-900 sq ft of carpet area. Always ask for carpet area before comparing prices.
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