Ultimate Guide to Land Sizes in Nigeria

Land Sizes in Nigeria are important learning points if you want to understand the system of land measurements in the country.

Major parcels of land are measured in Hectares, Acres, Meters and Feet. Each unit of measurement is sometimes affected by factors which include;

• Business / Economic Concerns
• Physical Development Patterns
• Environmental Concerns
• Etc.

Often land sizes and sub-division in Nigeria are regulated by Town Planning Laws. The sizes of sellable land vary from one location to another as there are various town planning regulations across the 36 States of the Nation.

Preamble

Whether you are considering investing in the Nigerian real estate market for commercial or residential purposes,  it is vital to have a detailed knowledge of land measuring standards.

The popular Land Measurement  Terms Include;

• Feet
• Meters
• Square Meters
• Plots
• Acres
• Hectares

Feet Explained

The singular word for Feet is  Foot. It is an imperial unit of measurement for land length and its equal to twelve inches or approximately 30.5 centimetres.

Here in Nigeria, the length of a plot of land can always be measured in Feet! For example, a land parcel can be described as 50ft by 100 ft where the width is 50ft and the length is 100ft or 60ft by 120 ft. (ft).

Square Feet Explained

The square foot, plural square feet, is an imperial area unit. One square foot is defined as the area of a square with sides that measure 1 foot in length. It can be used to denote the area covered by a land parcel (sq. ft)

Meters Explained

A meter is the base unit of length used in the metric system and can easily be converted to other units of measurements such as Feet. 1 meter is equivalent to 3.3 ft.

So a land can be explained in terms of 15 meters by 30 meters or 18 meters by 36 meters, where the width is 15 meters and the length is 30 meters (m).

Square Meter Explained

A square meter is simply the area of a square of a particular land parcel. It is used for measuring the sizes of anything from rooms to houses to Land. It is usually denoted by (s.qm).

Plot Explained

A plot of land is a marked out piece of land. According to Nigeria’s land divisions, the commonly available plot size for land is 100 x 50ft.

Sometimes these sizes are larger in private estates and land parcels allocated by the government.

Acres Explained

An Acre is a standard unit of measurement used by land sellers and it is almost an equivalent to the size of a standard football field. An acre is a product of any rectangular plot of land giving a total of 4,046sqm or 43,560sq ft.

Hectares Explained

A hectare is one of the least known metric units and one which potential buyers and estate developers seem to struggle with – it is a land measuring 100m x 100m or 328ft x 328ft. It is about two and a half acres.

Land Sizes / Unit Table – Nigerian Standard

Please Note:

Depending on the states in question, there can be variations in land sizes: 18 m x 30 m (540 sqm) and 18 m x 36 m (648 sqm) are the standard plot sizes in Lagos State.

This is why you must always request dimensions in square meters for such things as ease of comparison.

Corner Piece Plot Explained

A Corner Piece is a plot of land located at a road intersection and has a border with at least two access roads.

A Corner piece plot is larger than an ordinary plot. The premises are much more extensive than regular plots.

Many people desire corner-piece plots for several reasons. This type of Land usually has extra 3meters added to the sides close to the streets because of the 6m setback for roads.

Therefore instead of the typical 36m x 18m, the size can increase to 39m x 21m or 36m x 21m.  Corner piece plots of Land tend to be more expensive than others in the exact location.

Learning Review

As a learning recap, never forget to understand;

• Feet
• Meters
• Square Meters
• Plots
• Acres
• Hectares
• Corner Piece Plot

Disclaimer;

The contents of this article are for informational purposes only. Always consult  Accredited Town Planner or a registered Land Surveyor before embarking on any land measuring or subdivision project.

Related Contents:

• The What, How and Why of Real Estate Trading
• Land Banking in Nigeria; 3 Main Factors to Consider
• 10 Popular Housing Types in Nigeria with Pictures

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I am Bolaji Afolabi, a Partner at Globalclique, and a CIO @ Ibugbe and Partners - Pan African Real Estate + Technology + HR Consulting Group. Bolaji is celebrated for his expertise in seamlessly blending human capital with cutting-edge technologies, and also providing professional advisory services.

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