# Bigha to Decimal: The Conversion That Changes by State

> A decimal is always 435.6 square feet. A bigha is not. How to convert between them correctly in Bihar, Bengal, Assam, UP and Rajasthan, with a worked table.

- Canonical: https://www.agriva.ai/blog/bigha-to-decimal-conversion-guide
- Published: 2026-10-02
- Author: Agriva Editorial
- Category: Buying guides
- Tags: bigha, decimal, dismil, conversion, land-units
- Reading time: 4 min
- Source: Agriva (https://www.agriva.ai)

---
"How many decimals in a bigha?" has no single answer, and that is the whole problem.

A **decimal** is fixed. It is one hundredth of an acre, 435.6 square feet, everywhere it is used. A **bigha** is not fixed at all -- it ranges from 6,804 square feet to 27,225 depending on the state.

So the conversion between them changes every time you cross a border.

## The fixed half

**1 decimal = 435.6 square feet = 1/100 acre. 100 decimals = 1 acre.**

The unit is used across Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, and it is spoken as **dismil** or **desimal** in Hindi and Bhojpuri. A cent in Tamil Nadu and Kerala is numerically the same thing: one hundredth of an acre.

If someone says "40 dismil", they mean 0.4 acre. That part never varies.

## The moving half

| State                 | Sq ft per bigha | Decimals per bigha |
| --------------------- | --------------- | ------------------ |
| Uttarakhand           | 6,804           | 15.6               |
| Punjab, Haryana       | 9,072           | 20.8               |
| Madhya Pradesh        | 12,000          | 27.6               |
| West Bengal           | 14,400          | 33.1               |
| Assam                 | 14,400          | 33.1               |
| Rajasthan (kaccha)    | 17,424          | 40                 |
| Gujarat               | 17,427          | 40                 |
| Bihar                 | 27,220          | 62.5               |
| Rajasthan (pucca)     | 27,225          | 62.5               |
| Uttar Pradesh (pucca) | 27,225          | 62.5               |

Read that first and last row together. One bigha is 15.6 decimals in Uttarakhand and 62.5 decimals in Bihar. Four times the land, same word.

## Where the two units actually meet

In practice the overlap is Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, where both words are in daily use.

**Bihar.** 1 bigha = 20 katha = 27,220 sq ft = **62.5 decimals**. So 1 katha = 1,361 sq ft = 3.125 decimals.

**West Bengal.** 1 bigha = 20 katha = 14,400 sq ft = **33.06 decimals**. So 1 katha = 720 sq ft = 1.65 decimals.

The same two words, bigha and katha, in adjoining states, and both differ by roughly a factor of two. A family holding land on both sides of the border has to do the arithmetic twice.

## Worked conversions

**Bigha to decimal:** divide the bigha's square-foot value by 435.6.

- Bihar: 27,220 / 435.6 = 62.5 decimals
- West Bengal: 14,400 / 435.6 = 33.06 decimals
- Rajasthan kaccha: 17,424 / 435.6 = 40 decimals exactly

**Decimal to bigha:** multiply decimals by 435.6, then divide by the local bigha.

- 50 decimals in Bihar = 21,780 sq ft = 0.8 bigha
- 50 decimals in West Bengal = 21,780 sq ft = 1.51 bigha

**Decimal to acre:** divide by 100. 62.5 decimals = 0.625 acre.

The Rajasthan kaccha bigha is worth remembering because it is exactly 40 decimals and exactly 0.4 acre -- which is why **17,424 square feet** shows up so often in searches.

## The three checks before you rely on any of it

**Ask which bigha.** In Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, pucca and kaccha bighas are both in use and both called "bigha". The gap between them is 56 percent. Full detail in [why 1 bigha differs by state](/blog/why-1-bigha-differs-by-state-india).

**Convert to square feet first.** It is the only unit on this page that means the same thing everywhere. Compare, negotiate and record in square feet or acres, then translate back for conversation. The [land unit converter](/tools/land-unit-converter) handles the fixed units; the bigha values above have to come from the state.

**Read the registered extent.** Whatever the negotiation was conducted in, the sale deed and the [revenue record](/blog/how-to-read-rtc-pahani-record) carry a specific extent, and that is what you own. Confirm it matches before money moves, and check the parcel on the ground as described in [verifying a survey number](/blog/how-to-verify-survey-number-land).

## Related reading

- [The complete Indian land unit cheat sheet](/blog/land-unit-conversion-india-cheat-sheet)
- [Why 1 bigha is a different size in every state](/blog/why-1-bigha-differs-by-state-india)
- [North and east India's land units](/blog/north-india-land-units-explained) -- katha, biswa, chatak, lecha
- [Regional land unit names across India](/blog/regional-land-unit-names-india) -- dismil, bharana and the rest
- [What "2.36 acres" really means](/blog/what-2-36-acres-means-land-listing)

Browse listings: [agricultural land near Lucknow](/properties/uttar-pradesh/lucknow/agricultural), [farmland around Jaipur](/properties/rajasthan/jaipur/farmland), or [agricultural land near Ludhiana](/properties/punjab/ludhiana/agricultural).

_This article is general information, not legal advice. Land measurement units vary by state, district and local usage -- verify current requirements with a local property lawyer before making any purchase decision._