Hectare
Metric unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres.
The hectare (SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres (1 hm²), primarily used for land measurement.
- unit_type
- Area
- symbol
- ha
- value_in_SI
- 10,000 m² (1 hm²)
- primary_use
- Land measurement
- common_equivalents
- 2.47 acres; 100 hectares per km²
Lore & Background
The hectare was coined in French from the Latin 'ārea'.
Reader's Guide
The hectare is a foundational unit for land measurement across much of the world, serving as the legal unit in domains such as law (land deeds), agriculture, forestry, and town planning throughout the European Union, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In contrast, the United States and Myanmar use the acre. In Mexico, land areas are commonly given as combinations of hectares, ares, and centiares. The hectare's family includes the centiare (1 m²), deciare (10 m²), are (100 m²), and decare (1,000 m²), with the decare used in Norway and former Ottoman areas. Despite its exclusion from SI, the hectare remains essential for practical land measurement globally.
Did You Know?
- One hectare is equivalent to 2.47 acres.
- In Mexico, land areas are commonly written as hyphen-separated combinations of hectares, ares, and centiares.
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