Bigha to Acre Conversion: State-by-State Guide for 2026
| Quick answer One bigha is not one fixed size. It runs from roughly 0.16 acre in the Uttarakhand hills to 1.67 acres in Nepal. In Rajasthan one bigha is about 0.40 acre, in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar it is about 0.62 acre, and in West Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Bangladesh it is about 0.33 acre. Confirm your local bigha first, then convert. |
Two farmers can each say they own five bigha and still own land that differs by more than an acre. That is not a rounding error. It is the whole problem with bigha to acre conversion, and it costs people real money every season in wrong seed rates, wrong fertilizer bills, and wrong land prices.
The bigha grew up locally. Every kingdom, revenue circle and district settled on its own version, and nobody ever forced them into one national number. So before you multiply anything, you need to know which bigha you are holding. This guide gives you the accepted size for each major region, the arithmetic behind it, and a land area converter you can use to check your own figures in seconds.
Why one bigha is not the same everywhere
The acre and the hectare were defined by statute. The bigha was defined by custom. When British revenue officers standardized land records for tax collection, they wrote down whatever bigha the local settlement already used instead of replacing it. Those recorded sizes survived into today’s khatauni, jamabandi and record of rights.
That history has one practical consequence. A district boundary can change the meaning of the word bigha without changing the word itself. In parts of eastern and western Uttar Pradesh the local bigha differs even inside the same state, which is why revenue staff still quote area in biswa and biswansi rather than in bigha alone.
Bigha to acre conversion by region
Here are the sizes most commonly recorded in official practice. All acre figures use the standard 1 acre equals 4,046.86 square meters.
Rajasthan
The everyday Rajasthan bigha is 1,618.7 square meters, which is 17,424 square feet or 0.40 acre. So 2.5 bigha make one acre. Rajasthan also uses a larger pucca bigha of 2,529 square meters, about 27,225 square feet or 0.625 acre, and that is the one you will often find in older revenue papers. Ask which one the seller means.
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
Across most of UP and Bihar the recorded bigha sits between 2,500 and 2,530 square meters, roughly 27,000 square feet or 0.62 acre. About 1.6 bigha make one acre. Eastern UP has pockets where the local bigha is closer to 20,000 square feet, so a district-level check is worth the five minutes it takes.
Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
Hill states use the smallest bigha of all. Uttarakhand commonly records 6,806 square feet, which is about 632 square meters or 0.156 acre, so roughly 6.4 bigha make one acre. Himachal Pradesh uses 8,712 square feet, about 809 square meters or 0.20 acre, which makes a clean 5 bigha to the acre.
West Bengal, Tripura and Assam
West Bengal, Tripura and Assam all use a bigha of 14,400 square feet, which is 1,337.8 square meters or 0.33 acre. Three bigha make one acre. In Bengal the bigha is subdivided into katha, and in Assam into katha and lecha, so most local quotes will mix the units.
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
The commonly used figure in MP and Chhattisgarh is about 1,337 square meters, so 0.33 acre and three bigha to the acre, almost identical to Bengal. Some MP districts follow a larger bigha near 2,500 square meters. When the two numbers differ by nearly double, guessing is expensive.
Punjab and Haryana
In both Indian and Pakistani Punjab, the working units are kanal and marla, not bigha. Where bigha still appears in Indian Punjab and Haryana, it is usually 2 kanal, about 1,012 square meters or 0.25 acre, giving 4 bigha to the acre. A smaller variant of 9,070 square feet, roughly 0.21 acre, also shows up in some records.
Gujarat
The Gujarati vigha or bigha is normally taken as 1,618.7 square meters, the same as Rajasthan, so 0.40 acre and 2.5 bigha to the acre. Local practice in Saurashtra can differ, and the village talati is the fastest way to settle it.
Nepal
Nepal has the largest bigha in South Asia at 6,772.63 square meters, which is 1.67 acres or about 0.68 hectare. One bigha equals 20 katha, and only 0.6 bigha make an acre. Terai land deals are almost always quoted in bigha and katha.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh uses 1,337.8 square meters, the Bengal figure, so 0.33 acre and three bigha to the acre. One bigha equals 20 katha, and 100 decimal equals one acre in the same record system.
Quick reference table: bigha to acre
| Region | Square meters | Square feet | 1 bigha in acres | Bigha per acre |
| Rajasthan (common) | 1,618.7 | 17,424 | 0.40 | 2.50 |
| Rajasthan (pucca) | 2,529 | 27,225 | 0.625 | 1.60 |
| Uttar Pradesh, Bihar | 2,500 to 2,530 | 27,000 | 0.62 | 1.61 |
| Uttarakhand hills | 632 | 6,806 | 0.156 | 6.40 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 809 | 8,712 | 0.20 | 5.00 |
| West Bengal, Tripura | 1,337.8 | 14,400 | 0.33 | 3.03 |
| Assam | 1,337.8 | 14,400 | 0.33 | 3.03 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 1,337 | 14,390 | 0.33 | 3.03 |
| Punjab, Haryana | 1,012 | 10,893 | 0.25 | 4.00 |
| Gujarat | 1,618.7 | 17,424 | 0.40 | 2.50 |
| Nepal | 6,772.63 | 72,900 | 1.67 | 0.60 |
| Bangladesh | 1,337.8 | 14,400 | 0.33 | 3.03 |
Values reflect the conventions most widely used in state revenue practice and property records. District customs vary, so treat this table as your starting point and your local record as final. To convert any of these into hectares, kanal, marla, gaj or square feet instantly, use the Foods Farming land area converter.
How to convert bigha to acre in three steps
- Identify your local bigha. Read the area unit printed on your khatauni, jamabandi or record of rights, or ask the patwari, talati or tehsildar which bigha the village follows.
- Convert that bigha into square meters using the table above. This single step removes almost every mistake people make.
- Divide the total square meters by 4,046.86. The answer is your area in acres. Multiply instead by 0.000247 if you prefer a single multiplier.
Worked example. You hold 7 bigha in Bihar. Multiply 7 by 2,529 square meters to get 17,703 square meters. Divide by 4,046.86, and you have 4.37 acres. The same 7 bigha in Uttarakhand would be only 1.09 acres, which is a difference of more than three acres from the identical sentence in a deed.
How to convert bigha to hectare
Convert to square meters first, then divide by 10,000. That is the whole method.
- Rajasthan: 5 bigha times 1,618.7 equals 8,094 square meters, which is 0.81 hectare.
- Uttar Pradesh: 5 bigha times 2,529 equals 12,645 square meters, which is 1.26 hectares.
- Nepal: 5 bigha times 6,772.63 equals 33,863 square meters, which is 3.39 hectares.
Hectares matter more than most farmers expect, because government advisories, subsidy limits and research trial results are almost always published per hectare. If you are checking eligibility or benefit amounts, run your converted area through the agriculture subsidy calculator and the crop insurance premium calculator so the paperwork matches the field.
Bigha compared with kanal and marla
Farmers in Pakistan and Indian Punjab meet bigha figures in agricultural literature and in cross-border conversations, so the bridge is useful. The base is fixed: 1 acre equals 8 kanal equals 160 marla.
| Bigha type | Acres | Kanal | Marla |
| Rajasthan bigha | 0.40 | 3.20 | 64 |
| UP and Bihar bigha | 0.625 | 5.00 | 100 |
| Bengal and Assam bigha | 0.33 | 2.64 | 53 |
| Nepal bigha | 1.67 | 13.39 | 268 |
Pucca bigha and kaccha bigha
In parts of northern India, two bigha sizes live side by side in daily speech, and the difference is large enough to matter in any sale.
- Pucca bigha: the larger official bigha used in land records, usually 3,025 square yards or about 2,529 square meters.
- Kaccha bigha: a smaller informal bigha used in tenancy and small transactions, commonly one third of the pucca bigha at about 843 square meters, though some districts treat it as one half.
If a conversation moves between the two without anyone naming which is meant, stop and clarify. This is the single most common source of dispute in bigha land deals in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
Using the right bigha before you buy inputs
Every recommendation you receive, from seed rate to spray volume, is written per acre or per hectare. Your field is in bigha. That gap is where money leaks. A wheat seed rate of 50 kg per acre on 3 bigha in UP means 1.86 acres times 50, which is 93 kg. Apply the Uttarakhand bigha to the same sentence, and you would buy 23 kg and wonder why the stand is thin. Get the area right, then let the seed rate calculator and the row and seed spacing calculator do the dosing.
The same logic runs through the rest of the season. Convert first, then work out nutrients with the NPK fertiliser dosage calculator or the urea application rate calculator, plan sprays with the pesticide dosage and mixing calculator and the spray volume calculator, and size your irrigation with the crop water requirement calculator. Overdosing an input because of a unit error wastes cash, damages soil health and pushes residue past safe limits.
On the money side, an area error distorts everything downstream. Cost per acre, expected output and margin all shift together. Check your numbers with the crop cost of production calculator, the crop yield estimator and the crop profit comparison calculator before you commit to a plan for the season.
How to confirm your real land area
Local memory is useful. Official record is binding. Use both, in this order.
- Pull your record. In India the khata or khatauni states the area in the legally recorded unit. In Nepal the lalpurja does the same, and in Bangladesh the khatian.
- Ask the revenue officer which bigha the village follows and whether the entry is pucca or kaccha.
- Match the record against a fresh measurement. Mutation, partition and land acquisition all change area, and old papers go stale.
- Convert to acres or hectares for every planning decision and keep that figure in your farm file.
For soil sampling volumes, amendment rates and other area-based calculations that follow from this step, the soil and land tools and the wider Foods Farming calculators work in whichever unit you prefer.
Four mistakes worth avoiding
- Using a national average. There is no national bigha, so an average is just a wrong number with confidence.
- Carrying one state’s bigha into another. Land inherited across state lines is a classic trap.
- Ignoring the pucca and kaccha distinction. A one-third difference in area is a one-third difference in price.
- Converting once and never checking. Round your working figures, but always keep the exact square meter value in your records.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a standard bigha for all of India?
No. India has no national bigha standard. Each state and often each district follows its own historical definition, so the size must be confirmed locally before any calculation.
How many bigha make one acre?
It depends on the region. About 1.6 bigha in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, 2.5 in Rajasthan and Gujarat, 3 in West Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Bangladesh, 4 in Punjab and Haryana, 5 in Himachal Pradesh, about 6.4 in the Uttarakhand hills and only 0.6 in Nepal.
How much is 1 bigha in square feet?
Commonly 27,000 square feet in UP and Bihar, 17,424 in Rajasthan and Gujarat, 14,400 in West Bengal, Assam and Bangladesh, 10,893 in Punjab, 8,712 in Himachal Pradesh, 6,806 in Uttarakhand and 72,900 in Nepal.
What is the difference between pucca bigha and kaccha bigha?
Pucca bigha is the larger official unit used in land records, about 2,529 square meters. Kaccha bigha is the smaller informal unit, usually one third of a pucca bigha at roughly 843 square meters, though some districts use one half.
How do I convert bigha to hectare?
Multiply your bigha by the local bigha size in square meters, then divide by 10,000. For example, 5 bigha in Rajasthan is 8,094 square meters, which equals 0.81 hectare.
Is bigha a legally valid unit in land records?
Bigha still appears in rural land records and agricultural transactions in several states, but formal property measurement moves towards square feet, acres and hectares. The unit written on your own record is the one that governs your land.
How many marla are in one bigha?
A UP or Bihar bigha of 0.625 acre equals 5 kanal or 100 marla. A Rajasthan bigha of 0.40 acre equals 3.2 kanal or 64 marla, since one acre is always 8 kanal and 160 marla.
Which bigha is used in Nepal and Bangladesh?
Nepal uses 6,772.63 square meters per bigha, which is 1.67 acres, the largest in the region. Bangladesh uses 1,337.8 square meters, which is 0.33 acre, the same figure as West Bengal.
How do I find out which bigha my district uses?
Read the unit on your khatauni or record of rights, ask the patwari, talati or tehsildar, and confirm with the state land records portal. Most state portals include a conversion tool set to local values.
The takeaway
Bigha to acre conversion is simple arithmetic sitting on top of a hard question: which bigha? Answer that from your official record, convert to acres or hectares, and keep that converted figure as the single number you use for seed, fertilizer, water, subsidy claims, and sale price. Ambiguity in the unit is where losses hide.
Ready to run your own numbers? Open the land area converter and enter your area with the correct regional bigha, then move on to your crop-specific guides and the farm budget planner to build the season plan around it. More practical tools are on Foods Farming.