Hectare to Square Inch Converter

Convert hectares to square inches with our free online area converter.

Quick Answer

1 Hectare = 15500031.000062 square inches

Formula: Hectare × conversion factor = Square Inch

Use the calculator below for instant, accurate conversions.

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All conversion formulas on UnitsConverter.io have been verified against NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) guidelines and international SI standards. Our calculations are accurate to 10 decimal places for standard conversions and use arbitrary precision arithmetic for astronomical units.

Last verified: December 2025|Reviewed by: Sam Mathew, Software Engineer

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How to Use the Hectare to Square Inch Calculator:

Enter the value you want to convert in the 'From' field (Hectare).
The converted value in Square Inch will appear automatically in the 'To' field.
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Click the swap button (⇌) to reverse the conversion direction.

How to Convert Hectare to Square Inch: Step-by-Step Guide

Converting Hectare to Square Inch involves multiplying the value by a specific conversion factor, as shown in the formula below.

Formula:

1 Hectare = 15500030 square inches

Example Calculation:

Convert 10 hectares: 10 × 15500030 = 155000300 square inches

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These conversion results are provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, we make no guarantees regarding the precision of these results, especially for conversions involving extremely large or small numbers which may be subject to the inherent limitations of standard computer floating-point arithmetic.

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What is a Hectare and a Square Inch?

and Standards

The hectare is defined as an area of exactly 10,000 square meters:

1 ha = 10,000 m² = 100 m × 100 m

Precise Equivalents

1 ha = 10,000 m² (exactly, by definition)
1 ha = 0.01 km² = 1/100 square kilometer (exactly)
1 ha = 100 ares (where 1 are = 100 m²)
1 ha = 1 hm² (square hectometer)
1 ha = 2.47105 acres (US survey/international)
1 ha = 107,639.1 square feet
1 ha = 11,959.9 square yards
1 ha = 15,500,000 square inches

The hectare derives from the are (symbol: a), a rarely used metric unit defined as 100 m². The prefix hecto- means "hundred," so hectare literally means "hundred ares."

SI Status

The hectare is not an official SI unit—the SI unit of area is the square meter (m²). However, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) explicitly lists the hectare as a non-SI unit accepted for use with the SI in its SI Brochure, recognizing its overwhelming practical importance in land measurement globally.

Metric Prefixes and Multiples

While technically compatible with metric prefixes, only a few are used in practice:

Decare (daa) = 0.1 ha = 1,000 m² (used in some Eastern European and Middle Eastern countries)
Hectare (ha) = 1 ha = 10,000 m² (standard unit)
Square kilometer (km²) = 100 ha (preferred for very large areas)

The centiare (1 m²) and are (100 m²) exist theoretically but are rarely used today.

The Square Inch (symbol: in² or sq in) is a unit of area in both the British Imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. It is defined as the area of a square whose sides each measure exactly one inch in length.

Mathematically: 1 in² = 1 inch × 1 inch

It is related to other imperial/US customary area units:

1 square foot (ft²) = 144 in² (since 1 ft = 12 in)
1 square yard (yd²) = 1,296 in² (since 1 yd = 3 ft = 36 in)

In terms of metric units, based on the international inch defined as exactly 25.4 millimeters (mm):

1 in² = (25.4 mm)² = 645.16 mm²
1 in² = (2.54 cm)² = 6.4516 cm²
1 in² = (0.0254 m)² = 0.00064516 m²

Note: The Hectare is part of the imperial/US customary system, primarily used in the US, UK, and Canada for everyday measurements. The Square Inch belongs to the imperial/US customary system.

History of the Hectare and Square Inch

and Evolution

The French Revolution and the Birth of the Metric System (1790s)

The hectare emerged from the revolutionary fervor of 1790s France. The French Revolution sought to overthrow not only the monarchy but also the chaotic patchwork of traditional measurement units that varied by region, trade, and lord. Land measurement was particularly inconsistent: the arpent varied from 34 to 51 ares depending on locality, and dozens of other regional land units created confusion and inequity.

In 1795, the revolutionary government adopted the metric system, including the are as the fundamental unit of land area, defined as 100 square meters (a square 10 meters on each side). The hectare ("hundred ares") was immediately created as a larger, more practical unit for agricultural land, equal to 10,000 square meters—a square 100 meters on each side.

The Triumph of the Hectare over the Are (19th Century)

While the are was the official base unit, it proved awkwardly small for practical agriculture and forestry. A typical farm field might be dozens or hundreds of ares. The hectare, by contrast, was the perfect size: small enough to measure individual fields precisely, large enough to describe farm sizes conveniently. Within decades, the hectare became the dominant unit, and the are faded into obscurity.

Key milestone: In 1879, the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) formally adopted the hectare for international use, cementing its status as the global standard for land measurement.

Global Metrication: The Hectare Spreads Worldwide (1800s-1900s)

As the metric system spread from France across Europe, Latin America, and eventually Asia and Africa, the hectare went with it:

1800s: Adopted across continental Europe (Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Scandinavia)
1900-1950: Latin American countries metricated (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile)
1950-1980: Post-colonial nations in Africa and Asia adopted the metric system, including the hectare (India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya)
1970s: Australia and New Zealand officially switched from acres to hectares
1980s-present: Even partially metricated countries like Canada and the UK increasingly use hectares for official land statistics

Modern status: As of 2025, the hectare is the primary land measurement unit in over 170 countries, representing more than 95% of the world's population and land area.

Notable Holdouts and Hybrid Systems

United States: Continues to use acres almost exclusively for land measurement, despite metrication in science and industry.

United Kingdom: Officially metricated in the 1990s, but acres persist in casual speech, real estate listings, and tradition. Government statistics use hectares, while property advertisements often show both units.

Myanmar: Uses traditional Burmese land units alongside acres; hectares are rare.

Canada: Officially metricated (hectares), but older Canadians and rural areas often still reference acres informally.

The Hectare in International Agriculture and Forestry

By the mid-20th century, international organizations standardized on the hectare:

FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization): Reports global agricultural data in hectares
World Bank: Land area statistics in hectares
IPCC and climate science: Forest cover, deforestation, and carbon storage measured in hectares
International land treaties: Boundary agreements, protected areas, and resource rights defined in hectares

The hectare's dominance in these domains ensures its continued relevance even in non-metric countries, where professionals in agriculture, forestry, and environmental science routinely convert between acres and hectares.

Origin: The square inch originates from the inch, a fundamental unit of length in the English (later British Imperial and US customary) systems. The concept of measuring area based on squaring a length unit dates back to ancient measurement practices.
Evolution of the Inch: The precise length of the inch itself varied significantly over centuries and by location before the 20th century. Early definitions were often based on barleycorns or thumb widths.
Standardization (International Inch): In 1959, the United States and countries of the Commonwealth of Nations agreed upon the definition of the international yard as exactly 0.9144 meters. This agreement consequently defined the international inch as exactly 25.4 millimeters (mm). This standardization fixed the exact metric equivalent of the square inch as 6.4516 square centimeters (cm²).
Continued Use: Despite widespread global metrication, the square inch remains a common unit in the United States, and to a lesser extent in the United Kingdom and Canada, particularly in certain trades and industries.

Common Uses and Applications: hectares vs square inches

Explore the typical applications for both Hectare (imperial/US) and Square Inch (imperial/US) to understand their common contexts.

Common Uses for hectares

1. Agriculture: Farm Sizes and Crop Yields

The hectare is the universal standard for agricultural land measurement worldwide (except in the US). Farm sizes, field areas, crop yields, and agricultural statistics are expressed in hectares.

Crop yields are standardized as metric tons per hectare (t/ha) or kilograms per hectare (kg/ha):

Wheat: 3-10 t/ha (depending on region and farming intensity)
Rice: 4-8 t/ha
Corn (maize): 8-15 t/ha
Soybeans: 2-5 t/ha

Example: A 50-hectare wheat farm yielding 5 t/ha produces 250 metric tons of wheat annually.

2. Forestry: Timber Yields and Forest Management

Forestry professionals measure forest areas, logging concessions, reforestation projects, and timber yields in hectares.

Timber yield is expressed as cubic meters per hectare (m³/ha):

Temperate softwood forest: 150-400 m³/ha
Tropical rainforest: 200-600 m³/ha
Boreal forest: 80-200 m³/ha

Example: A sustainable logging operation might harvest 5 m³/ha/year from a 1,000-hectare forest, yielding 5,000 m³ of timber annually.

3. Urban Planning: Zoning and Development

Urban planners use hectares to measure development sites, zoning areas, and infrastructure projects. Residential density is often expressed as dwellings per hectare (dw/ha) or persons per hectare (pp/ha).

Typical densities:

Suburban single-family: 10-25 dw/ha
Urban townhouses: 30-60 dw/ha
Mid-rise apartments: 100-200 dw/ha
High-rise urban core: 300-1,000+ dw/ha

Example: A 20-hectare mixed-use development with an average density of 80 dw/ha would contain 1,600 dwellings.

4. Real Estate: Land Sales and Property Listings

In metricated countries, land parcels are listed in hectares. Small properties (under 1 ha) may be listed in square meters, while large rural properties use hectares.

Example listing: "50-hectare vineyard estate in Tuscany, fully planted, irrigation, farmhouse included."

In hybrid countries like the UK and Canada, listings often show both units: "25 hectares (62 acres)."

5. Environmental Science: Protected Areas and Deforestation

Conservation organizations, national parks, and environmental treaties use hectares to define protected areas, measure deforestation, and calculate carbon storage.

Carbon storage in forests is measured as metric tons of CO₂ equivalent per hectare (tCO₂e/ha):

Tropical rainforest: 200-600 tCO₂e/ha
Temperate forest: 100-300 tCO₂e/ha
Boreal forest: 50-150 tCO₂e/ha

Example: Protecting 10,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest prevents release of ~4,000,000 metric tons of CO₂.

6. International Development and Food Security

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Bank, and UN agencies report agricultural land, arable land per capita, and food production in hectares.

Arable land per capita (global average): ~0.19 ha per person (2025)

High: Australia ~1.9 ha/person, Canada ~1.2 ha/person
Low: Bangladesh ~0.05 ha/person, China ~0.08 ha/person

Food security context: Feeding one person for a year requires approximately 0.2-0.3 ha of arable land (depending on diet and farming intensity).

When to Use square inches

The square inch is primarily used for measuring relatively small areas, especially in specific fields:

Engineering and Manufacturing (US/UK): Specifying the cross-sectional area of wires, beams, or pipes; surface area of small mechanical parts; material stress calculations (often in conjunction with psi - pounds per square inch).
Electronics: Measuring the surface area of components like microchips or circuit boards.
Material Science: Quantifying the area of material samples for testing (e.g., fabric swatches, paper sheets).
Printing and Graphic Design (US): Sometimes used for small image dimensions or layout areas, although points and picas are also common.
Pressure Measurement: Implicitly used as the denominator in the widely used unit of pressure, pounds per square inch (psi).
Retail (Specific Goods): Occasionally used for pricing small, specialized items sold by area (e.g., certain textiles, craft supplies).
Crafts and Hobbies: Measuring small patches of fabric, paper dimensions, or design elements in quilting, scrapbooking, etc.

It is generally too small for measuring room dimensions (square feet are used) or land (acres or square miles are used).

Additional Unit Information

About Hectare (ha)

How large is a hectare visually?

A hectare is 10,000 square meters, or a square 100 meters on each side.

Visual comparisons:

1.4 FIFA soccer fields (a standard soccer pitch is ~7,140 m², so 1 ha ≈ 1.4 pitches)
Slightly larger than a rugby union pitch (max 100m × 70m = 7,000 m²)
About 2.5 times an American football field (with end zones: ~5,350 m²)
Trafalgar Square, London is approximately 1 hectare

Walking it: Walking around the perimeter of a 1-hectare square (400 meters total) takes about 5 minutes at a normal pace.

Running it: A 100m × 100m square has a perimeter of 400 meters—exactly the distance of a standard running track lap.

How many square meters are in a hectare?

Exactly 10,000 square meters (m²) in one hectare.

Formula: m² = ha × 10,000

Examples:

0.1 ha = 1,000 m²
1 ha = 10,000 m²
5 ha = 50,000 m²
100 ha = 1,000,000 m² = 1 km²

What is an "are" and how does it relate to a hectare?

The are (symbol: a) is a metric unit of area defined as 100 square meters—a square 10 meters on each side.

Relationship: 1 hectare = 100 ares

The are was the original base unit of land measurement in the metric system (1795), but the hectare (100 ares) proved more practical for actual use. Today, the are is obsolete in most countries, though it persists in legal documents and some rural areas of France and Switzerland.

Related unit: The decare (daa) = 10 ares = 1,000 m² = 0.1 ha, still used in Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, and some Middle Eastern countries.

How many acres are in a hectare?

One hectare equals approximately 2.47105 acres (or more precisely, 2.4710538 acres).

Formula: acres = ha × 2.47105

Common conversions:

1 ha = 2.47 acres
10 ha = 24.71 acres
100 ha = 247.1 acres
0.5 ha = 1.24 acres

Reverse: 1 acre = 0.4047 hectares

Memory aid: "A hectare is about two and a half acres."

How many hectares are in a square kilometer?

Exactly 100 hectares in one square kilometer.

Formula: ha = km² × 100

Why: 1 km² = 1,000 m × 1,000 m = 1,000,000 m². And 1 ha = 10,000 m². So 1,000,000 ÷ 10,000 = 100.

Examples:

0.01 km² = 1 ha
0.5 km² = 50 ha
1 km² = 100 ha
10 km² = 1,000 ha

Large areas: For areas over ~10,000 ha (100 km²), square kilometers become more convenient than hectares.

Is the hectare an official SI unit?

No, the hectare is not an official SI base or derived unit. The SI unit for area is the square meter (m²), and strictly speaking, large areas should be measured in square kilometers (km²).

However, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) explicitly lists the hectare as a non-SI unit accepted for use with the SI in the SI Brochure (9th edition, 2019). This recognition acknowledges the hectare's overwhelming global practical importance in agriculture, forestry, and land management.

In practice: Scientific papers, government statistics, and international organizations freely use hectares alongside SI units, and it is universally understood in metric contexts.

Why do some countries still use acres instead of hectares?

United States: Never fully metricated; acres are deeply embedded in property law, surveying, real estate, and agricultural tradition. US land is subdivided based on the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), which uses miles, chains, and acres.

United Kingdom: Officially metricated in 1995, but public resistance and tradition mean acres persist in real estate, rural communities, and casual speech. Government reports use hectares, but property listings often show both units.

Historical inertia: Countries that metricated recently (post-1970) often have older generations and established industries (especially real estate and agriculture) that resist change. The UK and Canada show gradual transitions, while the US shows little movement toward hectares.

Practical impact: Professionals working internationally (agriculture, forestry, climate science) routinely convert between acres and hectares, regardless of domestic preference.

How many hectares does it take to feed one person?

This depends on diet and farming intensity:

Vegetarian/low-meat diet (efficient):

Intensive agriculture (e.g., modern wheat, rice): 0.15-0.20 ha per person
Organic/lower-input farming: 0.25-0.35 ha per person

High-meat diet (less efficient due to feed conversion):

Intensive agriculture: 0.35-0.50 ha per person
Extensive/grassland-based: 0.50-1.00+ ha per person

Global average: Approximately 0.20-0.25 ha of arable land per person is needed to provide a balanced diet (2,500 kcal/day) with moderate meat consumption using modern farming practices.

Current reality: Global arable land per capita is about 0.19 ha per person (2025), down from ~0.38 ha in 1961 due to population growth. Higher yields per hectare have compensated, preventing widespread famine.

How do I measure the hectares of an irregular-shaped property?

Modern methods use GPS and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to calculate areas of irregular parcels precisely:

Method 1: GPS boundary walk

Walk or drive the perimeter with a GPS receiver
Software calculates area from GPS coordinates
Accuracy: ±0.5-2% depending on GPS quality

Method 2: Satellite imagery and GIS software

Import satellite images or cadastral maps into GIS software (QGIS, ArcGIS, Google Earth Pro)
Trace the boundary polygon
Software calculates area in hectares

Method 3: Traditional surveying

Professional land surveyor measures property using theodolite or total station
Calculates area using coordinate geometry
Accuracy: ±0.1% or better (legal surveys)

Method 4: Decomposition into simpler shapes

Divide irregular property into rectangles, triangles, and trapezoids
Measure each section's dimensions
Calculate each area and sum them

Example: A property approximated as a large rectangle (300m × 200m = 60,000 m²) plus a triangular section (base 100m, height 50m = 2,500 m²) totals 62,500 m² = 6.25 hectares.

How many soccer fields fit in a hectare?

A standard FIFA soccer pitch has recommended dimensions of 105 meters × 68 meters = 7,140 m².

Calculation: 10,000 m² (1 ha) ÷ 7,140 m² (1 pitch) = 1.40 soccer fields per hectare

Or inversely: 1 soccer field ≈ 0.714 hectares

Note: FIFA allows pitch dimensions from 100-110m length and 64-75m width, so actual pitches vary from ~6,400 m² to ~8,250 m². The 105m × 68m size is the international standard recommendation.

Other comparisons:

Rugby union pitch (max 100m × 70m): 0.70 ha, so ~1.43 per hectare
American football field (with end zones, 109.7m × 48.8m): 0.535 ha, so ~1.87 per hectare

What is a "section" in acres and hectares?

A section is a unit of land area used in the United States Public Land Survey System (PLSS) and Canadian Dominion Land Survey (DLS).

Definition: 1 section = 1 square mile = 640 acres = 259 hectares (approximately 258.9988 ha precisely)

Sections divide townships (36 sections per township, each section 1 mile × 1 mile). US and Canadian rural land is often described in sections, half-sections (320 acres / 129.5 ha), or quarter-sections (160 acres / 64.75 ha).

Example: "I own the southwest quarter-section of Section 16" means 160 acres or about 64.75 hectares.

How many hectares is a typical golf course?

Golf course sizes vary widely depending on design, number of holes, and layout:

18-hole courses:

Compact urban course: 40-50 hectares
Standard parkland course: 50-70 hectares
Championship course: 60-80 hectares
Links course (with extensive dunes/rough): 70-100+ hectares

9-hole courses: 20-35 hectares

Example: Augusta National Golf Club (home of the Masters) is approximately 140 hectares (346 acres).

Comparison: An average 18-hole golf course (~60 ha) is about 24 times the size of a FIFA soccer field (0.714 ha), or roughly 0.6 km².

About Square Inch (in²)

How many square inches are in one square foot?

There are exactly 144 square inches in one square foot. This is because 1 square foot is the area of a square with 12-inch sides (12 inches × 12 inches = 144 in²).

How do you convert square inches to square centimeters?

To convert square inches to square centimeters, multiply the area in square inches by 6.4516.

Conversion formula: Area [cm²] = Area [in²] × 6.4516
Example: 10 in² = 10 × 6.4516 cm² = 64.516 cm²

Is the square inch the same as "inches squared"?

Yes, the terms "square inch" (in²) and "inches squared" refer to the same unit of area.

Is the square inch an SI unit?

No, the square inch is not part of the International System of Units (SI). It belongs to the British Imperial and US customary systems. The corresponding SI units for area are the square meter (m²) and its derived units like the square centimeter (cm²) and square millimeter (mm²).

Why is psi (pounds per square inch) so common?

Pounds per square inch (psi) became a standard unit for measuring pressure (force per unit area) in many English-speaking countries, particularly in engineering and industrial applications, due to the established use of the pound for force and the inch for dimensions within the Imperial and US customary systems. While the SI unit for pressure is the Pascal (Pa), psi remains deeply ingrained in many technical fields in the US.

Conversion Table: Hectare to Square Inch

Hectare (ha)	Square Inch (in²)
0.5	7,750,015.5
1	15,500,031
1.5	23,250,046.5
2	31,000,062
5	77,500,155
10	155,000,310.001
25	387,500,775.002
50	775,001,550.003
100	1,550,003,100.006
250	3,875,007,750.016
500	7,750,015,500.031
1,000	15,500,031,000.062

How do I convert Hectare to Square Inch?

To convert Hectare to Square Inch, enter the value in Hectare in the calculator above. The conversion will happen automatically. Use our free online converter for instant and accurate results. You can also visit our area converter page to convert between other units in this category.

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What is the conversion factor from Hectare to Square Inch?

The conversion factor depends on the specific relationship between Hectare and Square Inch. You can find the exact conversion formula and factor on this page. Our calculator handles all calculations automatically. See the conversion table above for common values.

Can I convert Square Inch back to Hectare?

Yes! You can easily convert Square Inch back to Hectare by using the swap button (⇌) in the calculator above, or by visiting our Square Inch to Hectare converter page. You can also explore other area conversions on our category page.

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What are common uses for Hectare and Square Inch?

Hectare and Square Inch are both standard units used in area measurements. They are commonly used in various applications including engineering, construction, cooking, and scientific research. Browse our area converter for more conversion options.

For more area conversion questions, visit our FAQ page or explore our conversion guides.

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