What Is Marla?
Marla is a traditional unit for measuring land area. It is mainly used in Pakistan and parts of India when buying, selling, or dividing plots of land and houses.
Definition
In its standard form, 1 marla is defined as exactly one one hundred sixtieth part of an acre.
Using this definition:
- 1 marla = 272.25 square feet
- 1 marla = 30.25 square yards
- 1 marla is about 25.29 square meters
In many official records this standard marla is used. However, in some local areas people may use slightly different sizes for a marla, so it is always wise to ask which standard is being followed in a particular city or housing scheme.
History / Origin
The marla comes from the land measurement system used during the time of British rule in South Asia. At that time land was often measured in acres. To handle smaller plots, the acre was split into smaller parts, and one of these parts was the marla.
They fixed the size of a marla by linking it to square rods, also called poles or perches, which were already used in British land surveys. One acre was divided into 160 parts, and each part became known as 1 marla. This is why:
- 160 marla = 1 acre
- 1 marla = 1 acre divided by 160
After independence, Pakistan and India continued to use the marla in many regions, especially in Punjab and other northern areas, alongside newer metric units like the square meter.
Symbol & Abbreviation
The marla does not have one fixed international symbol like SI units, but some common forms are:
- marla written in full in English
- M sometimes used in tables and property ads
- Local language words written in Urdu or other scripts
On property files and maps, you often see land sized as for example 5 marla or 10 marla. To avoid mistakes, many documents write the word marla in full.
Current Use Around the World
The marla is not a metric or SI unit. It is mostly used in parts of South Asia, especially:
- Pakistan very common in housing societies and city planning, together with kanal and acre
- India used in some northern states, often in rural and semi urban areas
In many other countries people use square meters, square feet, or acres instead of marla, so the unit is not widely known outside South Asia.
Inside Pakistan and parts of India, marla is still very important. Many housing schemes are designed around marla plots, for example 3 marla, 5 marla, 7 marla, 10 marla, and 20 marla plots.
Example Conversions
The following examples use the standard marla of 272.25 square feet, which is based on 1 marla = 1 acre divided by 160.
Marla to square feet
- 1 marla = 272.25 sq ft
- 5 marla = 5 × 272.25 = 1,361.25 sq ft
- 10 marla = 10 × 272.25 = 2,722.5 sq ft
- 20 marla = 20 × 272.25 = 5,445 sq ft
Marla to square meters
1 square foot is about 0.092903 square meter.
- 1 marla = 272.25 × 0.092903 ≈ 25.29 m²
- 5 marla ≈ 126.45 m²
- 10 marla ≈ 252.9 m²
Marla to square yards
1 square yard = 9 square feet.
- 1 marla = 272.25 ÷ 9 = 30.25 yd²
- 5 marla = 151.25 yd²
- 10 marla = 302.5 yd²
Marla, kanal, and acre
In many parts of Pakistan, marla is linked to kanal and acre like this:
- 1 kanal = 20 marla
- 8 kanal = 1 acre
- So 160 marla = 1 acre
Related Units
Units related to marla in land measurement include:
- Square foot (sq ft) a small area unit used in buildings and rooms
- Square yard (yd²) a larger unit often used with older land records
- Square meter (m²) the main metric unit for area, used worldwide
- Kanal a traditional unit used with marla in Pakistan, 1 kanal = 20 marla
- Acre a large land unit, 1 acre = 160 marla in the standard system
- Hectare a metric land unit, 1 hectare = 10,000 m², which is about 395.37 marla
FAQs
Q: How big is 1 marla in square feet?
A: In the standard system, 1 marla is 272.25 square feet. Some local places may round this number or use a slightly different size, so always confirm the local rule.
Q: Is marla a metric unit?
A: No. Marla is not part of the metric system. It is a traditional unit from South Asia. The metric unit for area is the square meter.
Q: Where is marla commonly used?
A: Marla is mostly used in Pakistan and in some parts of northern India, especially for housing plots, residential schemes, and agricultural land.
Q: How many marla are in 1 kanal?
A: In the common system used in Pakistan, 1 kanal equals 20 marla.
Q: How many marla are in 1 acre?
A: By definition, 1 acre equals 160 marla in the standard British based system.
Q: Why do marla sizes sometimes differ?
A: Over time, different cities, housing societies, and local authorities created their own practical sizes for a marla. Some rounded the value, while others linked it to simple square foot counts. Because of this history, you may see different marla sizes in different areas.
