Hectare to Square Kilometer Converter

A hectare (ha) is a metric unit of area equal to 10,000 square meters or 0.01 square kilometers. It represents the area of a square with 100-meter sides, making it convenient for measuring medium to large land areas.

The hectare was introduced in 1795 as part of the original metric system during the French Revolution. The name comes from the Greek 'hekaton' meaning 'hundred' and the Latin 'area'. It was designed to provide a practical unit for agricultural and land measurement, filling the gap between square meters and square kilometers.

Hectares are extensively used in agriculture, forestry, real estate, and land management worldwide. They're the standard unit for farm sizes, forest areas, park measurements, and land development projects. Most countries use hectares for official land area measurements and agricultural statistics.

A square kilometer (km²) is a unit of area equal to the area of a square with sides of one kilometer each. It equals 1,000,000 square meters or 100 hectares, making it suitable for measuring large geographical areas.

The square kilometer emerged naturally from the metric system established during the French Revolution in 1795. As the kilometer became standardized for distance measurement, its square became the logical unit for large area measurements, particularly useful for mapping territories and countries.

Square kilometers are universally used for measuring countries, states, cities, large properties, national parks, and geographical features. They're standard in atlases, geographic surveys, urban planning, and environmental studies. Most countries report their total area in square kilometers.