How many hectares are in an acre?

One acre equals exactly 0.40468564224 hectares. In practical use, this is rounded to 0.4047 hectares. Conversely, one hectare equals approximately 2.471 acres. The conversion is exact because the International acre is defined as exactly 4,046.8564224 square metres, and a hectare is exactly 10,000 square metres.

What is the difference between an acre and a hectare?

An acre is an imperial unit of area equal to 4,047 square metres (approximately 0.405 hectares). It originated in medieval England as the amount of land an ox could plough in one day. A hectare is the metric unit equal to exactly 10,000 square metres (100 metres x 100 metres), used internationally and in New Zealand for land measurement. A hectare is about 2.47 times larger than an acre.

Are land titles in New Zealand measured in acres or hectares?

New Zealand officially uses hectares for land measurement, having converted from acres as part of metrication in the 1970s. Most modern land titles, council maps, and rural property listings now show areas in hectares. However, older documents and some rural discussions still reference acres, so the ability to convert between the two units remains useful. A typical lifestyle block in New Zealand is often described as 2 hectares (about 5 acres).

Acres to Hectares Converter

This converter turns acres into hectares and hectares into acres, using the exact international conversion factor of 1 acre = 0.40468564224 hectares, so you get a precise figure whichever direction you are working in. New Zealand land titles, council records and LINZ documents have used hectares since metrication in the 1970s, but older deeds, rural real estate listings and everyday farm talk still often reference acres, so having a quick, accurate way to switch between the two saves you doing the maths by hand. Enter an area in acres and choose your decimal precision, from two decimal places up to full ten-figure precision, and the calculator instantly returns the equivalent in hectares, square metres and square kilometres. You can also enter a figure directly in hectares to convert back to acres, or pick a common New Zealand land size, such as a quarter-acre section, a lifestyle block or a farm block, from the preset list to fill the acres field automatically. Below the main result you get a full conversion breakdown showing the exact factor used and the figure at full precision, a unit reference table for quick lookups, and a table comparing common land sizes in acres, hectares and square metres side by side. It is a straightforward unit conversion, so the numbers are exact rather than estimates.

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Standard conversion International acre = 4,046.8564224 m² (exact). Hectare = 10,000 m² (exact).

1. Convert Acres to Hectares

Area in acres

acres

Precision

2. Reverse: Hectares to Acres

Area in hectares

Common land sizes (select to fill acres field)

Conversion Result

Hectares
0.4047
From acres input

Square Metres

4,047

1 acre = 4,046.86 m²

Square Kilometres

0.004047

ha ÷ 100

Reverse (ha to acres)

1.0000

From hectares input

Full Conversion Breakdown

Input1.0000 acre

Conversion factor0.40468564224 ha/acre

Hectares (full precision)0.4046856422 ha

Square metres4,046.8564 m²

Square kilometres0.00404686 km²

Square feet43,560 ft²

Result (selected precision)0.4047 ha

Unit Reference

1 acre0.40469 ha

1 hectare2.47105 acres

1 acre4,046.86 m²

1 hectare10,000 m²

1 acre43,560 ft²

1 hectare107,639 ft²

640 acres1 square mile

100 hectares1 km²

Common Land Size Reference Table

Description	Acres	Hectares	Square Metres

Result: 1.0000 acre = 0.4047 hectares (4,047 m2).

How to Convert Acres to Hectares

To convert acres to hectares, multiply the number of acres by the conversion factor 0.40468564224. This factor is exact, because both the international acre and the hectare are defined precisely in terms of square metres.

Formula: Hectares = Acres x 0.40468564224

Worked example: Convert 1 acre to hectares.

Hectares = 1 x 0.40468564224
Hectares = 0.4047 ha (rounded to 4 decimal places)

To convert in the other direction, from hectares to acres, divide by 0.40468564224 (or equivalently, multiply by 2.47105381467).

Acres and Hectares: Unit Definitions

The acre is a unit of area originating from the imperial system. It was historically defined as the amount of land that one man with one ox could plough in a single day. The modern international acre is defined as exactly 4,046.8564224 square metres, or exactly 43,560 square feet.

The hectare (symbol: ha) is the standard metric unit for measuring large areas of land. It is defined as exactly 10,000 square metres, equivalent to a square plot 100 metres on each side. The hectare is not an SI unit, but it is accepted for use within the SI and is the standard unit used in land title documents, council zoning, and agricultural reporting in New Zealand and most of the world.

Land Measurement in New Zealand

New Zealand adopted the metric system progressively through the 1970s and 1980s. Land areas are now officially recorded in hectares in all council plans, LINZ (Land Information New Zealand) titles, and official statistics. Older documents, rural real estate listings, and informal conversation may still use acres, particularly for lifestyle blocks and farm properties.

Common NZ land size benchmarks:

Common description	Hectares	Acres (approx.)
Quarter-acre section (traditional NZ home section)	0.101 ha	0.25 acres
Typical NZ lifestyle block	2 to 4 ha	5 to 10 acres
Small farm	20 to 40 ha	50 to 100 acres
Medium dairy farm	100 to 200 ha	247 to 494 acres
Large sheep and beef station	1,000 ha +	2,471 acres +

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Sources and method: International acre definition: 1 acre = 4,046.8564224 m² exactly (National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C). Hectare definition: 1 ha = 10,000 m² exactly (Bureau International des Poids et Mesures). Conversion factor: 1 acre / 10,000 = 0.40468564224 ha, exact.

This converter uses the international acre definition (4,046.8564224 m²). The US survey acre (used historically in some US land records) differs very slightly (4,046.8726 m²), but this distinction is not relevant for New Zealand land measurements.