Convert Middle East dunam to square foot easily.

Imagine you’re sipping mint tea in Jordan, browsing land listings for a cozy olive farm. The agent mentions the plot is 5 dunams. Your mind races: How big is that in square feet? Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. Whether you’re dealing with real estate, agricultural planning, or just satisfying curiosity, converting Middle Eastern dunams to square feet doesn’t require a math degree. Let’s walk through this together, one step at a time.

Unit definitions

What is a dunam (dunam)?

• Description: A traditional unit of land area used across the Middle East and former Ottoman Empire.
• Symbol: No official symbol, often spelled out as "dunam".
• Common uses: Measuring agricultural land, real estate, and rural properties.
• Definition: The modern metric dunam equals 1,000 square meters (approx. 0.247 acres). Historically, it represented the area a farmer could plow in a day using oxen.

What is a square foot (sq ft)?

• Description: An imperial unit of area predominantly used in the United States and Commonwealth countries.
• Symbol: sq ft or ft²
• Common uses: Residential real estate, construction, and interior space measurement.
• Definition: The area of a square with sides measuring 1 foot (0.3048 meters) each. One square foot equals 144 square inches.

Conversion formula

The magic number you need is 10,763.9. Multiply dunams by this factor to get square feet:

Square feet = Dunams × 10,763.9

To reverse the calculation:

Dunams = Square feet ÷ 10,763.9

Example calculations

1. Converting 2.5 dunams to square feet:

   2.5 dunams × 10,763.9 = 26,909.75 sq ft
   

2. Converting 50,000 sq ft to dunams:

   50,000 ÷ 10,763.9 ≈ 4.645 dunams
   

Conversion tables

Dunam to square foot

Square foot to dunam

From oxen to office parks: A brief history of land measurement

The dunam’s story begins in the Ottoman Empire, where it was called "dönüm" (meaning: turn), referring to the amount of land a team of oxen could plow in a single work session. Talk about practical. Over time, regional variations emerged, ranging from 900 to 2,500 square meters depending on soil quality and local customs. In 1928, the metric dunam was standardized to 1,000 m² to simplify trade and taxation, though some rural areas still use older definitions.

Square feet? That’s a different beast altogether. The foot as a measurement dates back to ancient Rome, but it became standardized through British imperial units. As global trade expanded, square feet became the go-to unit for urban planning in English-speaking countries. Today, when a New York skyscraper and a Tel Aviv apartment complex discuss floor space, our converter bridges that cultural measurement gap..

Interesting facts

1. Flexible farmers: In 19th-century Palestine, a dunam could be as small as 900 m² in rocky areas or up to 4,000 m² in fertile plains.
2. Real estate crossover: Some luxury Middle Eastern properties now list sizes in both dunams and square feet to attract international buyers.
3. Taxation tactics: Ottoman officials sometimes adjusted dunam sizes to increase tax revenues without changing rates.
4. Space saver: One dunam (1,000 m²) is roughly 40% of an Olympic swimming pool’s surface area.
5. Global footprint: The square foot is so ubiquitous that even metric-friendly IKEA uses it for international furniture measurements.

FAQ