Key takeaways
- The traditional marla = 272.25 ft²; 20 marla = 1 kanal = 5,445 ft²; 8 kanal = 1 acre.
- Gaj = square yard = 9 ft² exactly — the everyday unit for plots and flats.
- Some housing societies (e.g. DHA) use a smaller 225 ft² marla, so the figure shifts by area.
- Always confirm the marla your local registry or society applies before any deal.
The quick answer
The marla and kanal are the backbone of the Punjab land system used across Pakistan. One marla is 272.25 square feet in the traditional "shahjahani" system, twenty marla make one kanal (5,445 ft²), and eight kanal make exactly one acre (43,560 ft²). The gaj — simply the square yard, 9 ft² — is how small plots and flats are quoted. The bigha is a traditional agricultural unit used in India; it is not standard in Pakistan, so you will rarely meet it here.
Where the marla number comes from
The marla descends from the imperial survey system where 1 marla equalled 9 square karam, and one karam was 5.5 feet. That gives 5.5 × 5.5 = 30.25 ft² per square karam, and 9 × 30.25 = 272.25 ft² per marla. Twenty marla then make a kanal of 5,445 ft², and eight kanal close out to an acre. This clean chain is why the traditional marla is so precise.
The catch: many Pakistani housing societies (DHA, Bahria and others) quote plots on a smaller 225 ft² marla, while Punjab revenue land still uses the 272.25 ft² figure. So "5 marla" can mean 1,361 ft² or 1,125 ft² depending on where the plot sits. The land area converter uses the 272.25 ft² traditional value by default, but you should always check which marla your local registry or society applies.
Conversion reference table
The cleanest way to compare units is to put them all on a single square-foot basis. Exact units (acre, hectare, gaj) are mathematically defined; the marla shifts between revenue land and housing societies.
| Unit | Square feet (standard) | In metric / chain |
|---|---|---|
| Gaj (sq yard) | 9 | 0.836 m² — exact |
| Square metre | 10.764 | 1 m² — exact |
| Marla (traditional) | 272.25 | 30.25 gaj · 225 in some societies |
| Kanal | 5,445 | 20 marla · 1/8 acre |
| Acre / killa | 43,560 | 4,047 m² — exact |
| Hectare | 107,639 | 10,000 m² — exact |
A worked example: a 5-marla plot
A "5 marla" plot is the classic starter-home size in Pakistan. Using the traditional marla: 5 × 272.25 = 1,361.25 ft². Convert that to other units by dividing by the factor above — into gaj it is 1,361.25 ÷ 9 = 151.25 gaj; into square metres it is 1,361.25 ÷ 10.764 = 126.5 m²; and as a fraction of an acre it is 1,361.25 ÷ 43,560 = 0.03125 acre (exactly 1/32, since 5 marla is a quarter-kanal and 8 kanal make an acre).
Now the twist: if that society uses the 225 ft² marla, the same "5 marla" is only 1,125 ft² — a 17% difference, or about three rooms' worth of floor area. That gap is exactly why you confirm the local factor before signing. The land area converter shows several conversions at once so you can sanity-check a listing in seconds.
From plot area to a building
Once you know the plot in square feet, the next question is how much you can build on it. That is governed by the Floor Area Ratio — the FAR / FSI calculator turns your plot area plus the local FAR and ground-coverage limits into permissible built-up area, footprint, and an estimated number of floors.
Frequently asked questions
How many square feet is one marla?
The traditional marla is 272.25 ft² (30.25 gaj, ≈ 25.29 m²). Some Pakistani housing societies such as DHA use a smaller 225 ft² marla, so confirm the local figure.
How many marla are in one kanal?
One kanal is 20 marla = 5,445 ft² (traditional). Eight kanal make exactly one acre.
What is gaj and how does it relate to square feet?
Gaj is the square yard. One gaj = 9 ft² exactly, because a yard is three feet (3 × 3 = 9).
Sources: the marla/kanal chain (1 marla = 9 sq karam = 272.25 ft², 20 marla = 1 kanal, 8 kanal = 1 acre) follows the traditional "shahjahani" survey system documented in Punjab (Pakistan) revenue practice. Exact-unit equivalences (1 acre = 43,560 ft², 1 hectare = 10,000 m², 1 gaj = 9 ft²) are defined values. The 225 ft² marla is used by some Pakistani housing societies; confirm the local figure.
Last reviewed 2026-06-14