Marla

Indian subcontinentTraditional unit (still used in some regions)

272.25 square feet (25.29 m²), a square rod (the 'big marla' in India). Used for house plots in Pakistan and north India, where sizes vary by region.

1 marla = 25.29285264 square meters (exactly).

About the marla

Houses in Pakistani cities such as Lahore and Islamabad are still sold as 5 marla, 10 marla or 1 kanal plots. The marla was fixed under the British Raj as one square rod, a square of 16.5 feet on a side, giving 272.25 square feet, 30.25 square yards or 25.292853 square metres. 160 marla make an acre, and 20 make a kanal.

The size depends on the country. Wikipedia says India standardized the marla at 25 square yards (about 225 square feet, or 20.9 square metres), and that in India the older, larger Pakistani-style unit is often called the big marla. Bangladesh follows the Indian definition. The same article also gives 272.25 square feet in its Indian section, so its own figures disagree, and the page is tagged as needing more citations.

In Punjab the marla is subdivided into 9 sarsahi, each a square of 5.5 feet, or 30.25 square feet. The figure used here is the 272.25 square foot Raj-era marla. Within India the unit is losing ground to the guz, square metres, acres and hectares.

Sources: Wikipedia: Marla (unit)

Marla conversion chart

1 marla expressed in every other area unit:

More Indian subcontinent units

• guntha (area)
• cent (India) (area)
• kanal (area)
• tola (weight & mass)
• seer (weight & mass)
• maund (weight & mass)
• ghati (time)
• muhurta (time)
• prahar (time)
• lakh (counting & quantity)
• crore (counting & quantity)
• arab (Indian) (counting & quantity)
• kharab (Indian) (counting & quantity)

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