How many hectares in an acre?

The acre is the imperial/US unit for land area, while the hectare is the metric unit used almost everywhere else. One hectare is exactly 10,000 square meters, while one acre is 43,560 square feet (4,046.86 square meters). The conversion between them is therefore fixed and exact.

You will see hectares on real estate listings outside the US and Canada, on farm subsidies and agricultural reports globally, and in international news coverage of land use. A typical commercial farm in the US is quoted in hundreds or thousands of acres; the same farm in Europe would be quoted in hundreds of hectares.

Quick reference: Acres to Hectares

Worked examples

1. Example 1: A French countryside listing says the property is 3 hectares. How many acres is that?

   Calculation: 3 × 2.471 = 7.41 acres.

   About 7.5 acres, a decent-sized rural lot by US standards.

2. Example 2: A news report mentions a 500-acre wildfire. What is that in hectares?

   Calculation: 500 × 0.4047 = 202.3 hectares.

   Roughly 200 hectares, or 2 square kilometers.

3. Example 3: You own 12 acres of farmland and want to compare to a European neighbor who owns 5 hectares.

   Calculation: 12 × 0.4047 = 4.86 hectares. 5 × 2.471 = 12.36 acres.

   Your 12 acres is roughly equal to the neighbor's 5 hectares. They have a few percent more land.

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