Convert Area from Hectares to Ares (ha to a)

What is a Hectare (ha)?

A hectare (ha) is a unit used to measure area in the metric system. In simple terms, one hectare is equal to 10,000 square meters.

It's primarily used for measuring large plots of land, making it a standard unit for agriculture, forestry, and urban planning worldwide.

For a quick conversion:

• 1 hectare = 10,000 square meters
• 1 hectare = 2.47 acres

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How Big is a Hectare?

It can be tricky to picture a unit of measurement.

The easiest way to understand the size of a hectare is to imagine a square with sides that are 100 meters long. The area inside that square is exactly one hectare (100 m × 100 m = 10,000 m²).

Visualizing a Hectare: Real-World Examples

To put the size of a hectare into perspective, think about these common examples:

• An international rugby field is almost exactly one hectare in size.
• A professional soccer (football) pitch is slightly smaller, at around 0.71 hectares.
• It would take about 15 American football fields to cover one hectare.
• New York City's Times Square is approximately 1.1 hectares in size.

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Hectare vs. Acre: What's the Difference?

The hectare and the acre are both units used to measure land, but they belong to different measurement systems and are not the same size.

The most significant difference is that the hectare is a metric unit, while the acre is part of the imperial system.

• Hectare: A metric unit equal to 10,000 square meters.
• Acre: An imperial unit equal to 4,840 square yards (or about 4,047 square meters).

A hectare is significantly larger than an acre. One hectare is equal to about 2.47 acres.

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Where is the Hectare Used Globally?

While not an official SI unit, the hectare is the only named unit of area that is accepted for use with the International System of Units.

It is a primary measurement for land in legal and commercial contexts throughout most of the world, particularly in:

• The European Union
• Australia
• Canada
• Most of Asia and Africa

Its widespread adoption makes it a universal standard for land measurement. The major exception is the United States, which primarily uses the acre.

What is an Are (a)?

An are (a) is a metric unit of area, defined as 100 square meters (100 m²).

It is part of the same system as the more widely known hectare. The plural form is ares.

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From Are to Hectare: A Common Land Measurement

The hectare (ha), a much more common unit for measuring land, is derived directly from the are.

The prefix 'hecto-' means 100, so one hectare is equal to 100 ares.

Since one are is 100 square meters, a hectare is equivalent to 10,000 square meters (100 ares × 100 m²/are). This makes the hectare an ideal unit for measuring large areas, such as farms, forests, and parks.

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The History and Modern Use of the Are

The are was first established as part of the original French metric system in 1795. It was designed to serve as a standard base unit for measuring land, simplifying calculations required by older, traditional units.

While the hectare is more common today in agriculture and forestry, the are is still used in specific contexts, such as real estate and land registries in many countries, particularly throughout Europe.

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Related Metric Units: Centiare, Decare, and Hectare

The are serves as the foundation for other metric units of land area, making conversions straightforward. The most common related units include:

• Centiare (ca): Equal to one-hundredth of an are. This makes a centiare precisely one square meter (1 m²).
• Decare (daa): Equal to ten ares, or 1,000 square meters (1,000 m²). The decare is often used for land measurement in parts of Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
• Hectare (ha): Equal to one hundred ares, or 10,000 square meters (10,000 m²).