How To Measure Land Area In Thailand

Thailand Land Measurement Conversions

If you’re serious about purchasing land in Thailand, it will certainly help to you a bit about how to measure land area in Thailand as it may not be what you are used too, so we’ve put together this simple Thailand Land Measurement Conversions guide for you.

So What Are The Differences?

Land measurements in Thailand are completely different to what you’d be used to if you’re from areas such as North America, Australia or Europe. People often struggle to conceptualize the actual size of land and often compare land mass to something they can relate too such a football pitches, swimming pools and so on for a more relatable idea of size comparison. Thailand has it’s own way of confusing foreign guests by referring to measurements of land not as Miles, Acres and Kilometres, but as Rai.

Rai Measurements Explained

The important thing to know when learning how to measure land area in Thailand is that most land sizes in Thailand are measured in “Rai”, with 1 Rai of land being equal to 1,600 square metres in size. In terms of acreage, 1 Rai is roughly 0.4 acres / 0.16 hectares. To use a sporting comparison, 1 Rai is a little bit smaller than 1 quarter of a football pitch.

A common plot size for properties in Thailand is about a quarter of a Rai, so by applying the math to it, it’s 400sqm of space. Again, going back to a sporting comparison, the closest thing we could of is that it’s just slightly smaller than a professional basketball court.

A couple of other terms you may hear when discussing land size in Thailand are “Wah” and “Talang Wah”. 1 Wah is equal to 2 metres and 1 Talang Wah (Talang being “squared”) is equal to 4sqm. Therefore, 400 Talang Wah will be equal to 1,600sqm / 1 Rai.

Converting Thai to Metric / Imperial Measurements

1 Wah = 2 m
1 Talang (Square) Wah = 4 m2
100 Talang Wah = 400 m2
400 Talang Wah = 1,600 m2 (1Rai)
1 Rai = 1,600 m2 (400 Talang Wah)
1 Rai = approx. 0.40 Acre
1 Rai = 0.16 Hectare
1 Rai = 17,216 ft2