What is Hectare? – Definition and Conversion

What is Hectare?

We have seen various units of distance such as miles, kilometers, and feet. But when we want to estimate the area we need to multiply two distances together. In maths, the area is the measurement of the surface of some space or piece of land. To calculate it you have to multiply two of space’s sides, like the length and width of a rectangular field. There are various units available to define and represent the area. One of such nit is Hectare. Now we will discuss its definition and conversions here on Hectare in more detail.

Definition of Hectare

A hectare is simply defined as a unit of measurement for an area, specifically representing 10,000 square meters. Actually it does have something in common with Prince Hector, both come from Greece. Although France made the measurement unit official in 1795, this word “hectare” comes from the Greek word “hekaton” mean for one hundred. Its abbreviation used is “ha”.

Therefore a hectare is a metric unit for measuring area, with one hectare equaling 2.471 acres or 10,000 meters. For example, an American football field, including end zones, is measuring 0.535 hectares. Also, this term is derived from the Latin area and from ‘hect,’. Although the ‘are’ is the primary metric unit of land measurement, but in practice, the hectare is more commonly used.

History of Hectare

Initially, people to measure area were medieval farmers, who created the acre as a way to estimate the size of their fields. The acre and hectare are two units to measure the area. Actually the word acre comes from the Latin word for the field (ager)!

One acre was defined as an area of land that is 22 yards approximately. These dimensions were popularly known as a ‘chain’ and a ‘furlong’.  This choice made sense to people of the time because it was exactly the amount of land that could be tilled by one person and one ox in a single day.

Acres were used commonly until the 1700s when the standard unit of area was updated to be a square 100 meters i.e. one acre. When we think about the area, we should try to develop a sense of how big each unit is.

Conversion to other units

1 Hectare = 2.471 Acres

! Hectare = 107,637 square feet

1 Acre = 43,500 square feet

1 Acre = 4,840 square yards;

So, divide the number of acres by 2.471 to get its equivalent value in hectares.

For example,

To convert 320 acres into hectares.

Since 1 hectare = 2.471 acres.

So, divide 320 by 2.471, we will get the answer as129.5 hectares.

Also, if square yards is given as the area measurement, then convert square yards into acres first and then calculate the hectares.

For example,

To calculate the hectares value in 17,340 square yards.

4,840 square yards = 1 acre;

Then

17,340 square yards/4,840 square yards = 3.583 acres.

Now, convert acre into hectares.

As we know that 1 hectare = 2.471 acres,

So, 3.583/2.471 = 1.45 hectares.

Thus, a hectare is…

• Equal in the area to a square which measures 100 m length on each side.
• It is an area of 10,000 square meters.
• It is equal to 2.47 acres.
• It can also be represented as 0.01 square km.
• At last, there is 259 ha in a square mile.

Questions on Hectare

Q: Convert 237 hectares to square meters.

Ans: Multiply the area value by 10000. So, 2370000 square meters.

Q: Convert 45 square yards to hectares.

Ans: For an approximate result, divide the area value by 11959.9. So, 0.00376257 hectares.