Guide to Price and Land Measurement Units in Cameroon

You must consider certain factors before buying a property in Cameroon, and one of these is the "size of the land." It is essential to get familiar with Cameroon's land sizes and measurements.

Land Sizes in Cameroon

You must understand the land measurement system in Cameroon, especially if you are interested in buying that particular land or house. The land size varies in Cameroon for different reasons, including development patterns and human and environmental factors.

Some questions like "What is an acre and a hectare?", "What does a square meter mean?", "What is one plot?", "What is a half plot?" are common in real estate.

Buyers and sellers need to understand these terms to know what they buy. Hence, if you want to purchase land or a house, read this post to make an informed decision.

Before you purchase land, the first question to the agent or developer is about the land size.

What is a Plot?

A plot is a substantial piece of land for farming or building. The word "plot" is a random term used to describe a land division carved out for property development. The land area can be measured using different units such as acres, hectares, square feet, or square meters.

The size of a plot of land varies for different reasons, but according to Cameroon's land divisions, the appropriate size of a plot of land is 100 50 ft. This can accommodate a standard house with a small compound.

In Yaounde, the standard size of a plot is 60 x 120 ft (18m x 36m, i.e., 648sqm), while in some other cities in the country (Bamenda, Douala, Buea, Limbe), the land is measured at 50 x 100 ft.

Acres and hectares are bigger measurement units mainly used for larger land areas like farmland and forests. At the same time, meters and feet are used for smaller plots of land, for instance, for residential purposes. Cameroon primarily uses the metric system of measurements; these plots of land are usually described in square meters. For easy comparison, you should always ask any land vendor what the size of a plot of land is in square meters.

As a potential buyer, you should never forget that in any urban planning environment, plots are made up of different sizes to allow for different types of use, either residential or commercial.

Standard Measurement Units of Land Sizes in Cameroon

To better understand land sizes used in Cameroon, different units of area are used as follows:

Feet (ft.)

A foot, or plural feet, is a unit of length in the Imperial Customary Systems of Measurement. One square foot (1 sq ft) comprises 0.09 sq.m. no foot ft), in measurement, is defined as 0.3048m exactly or 12 inches.

Square feet

The square foot, plural square feet, is an imperial unit of area. One square foot is defined as the area of a square with sides that measure 1 foot in length.

Meter (m)

A meter is the base unit of length used in the metric system and can easily be converted for other units. One meter equals 100 centimeters, 39.37 inches, or 3.3 ft.

Square meters (Sqm)

The square meter is a fundamental metric unit of area. It measures the size of anything, from rooms to houses to land. A square meter is simply the area of a square whose sides measure exactly 1 meter in length. The symbol is m2.

Acre

An acre is a standard unit of measurement used by land sellers, and it is almost equivalent to the size of a traditional football field. An acre is a product of any rectangular plot of land, giving a total of 4046.86 sqm or 43,560 sq ft., and an acre consists of 6 units, each measuring 60 x 120ft.

Concerning land measurements, the above divisions constitute some fraction of an acre which means a plot can be;

50 x 100ft/ 15.2 x 30.5m = 463.6sqm (which means there are 8.7 plots of land measuring 463.6sqm in an acre)
100 x 100ft / 30.5 x 30.5m = 930.25sqm (which means there are 4.3 plots of land measuring 930.25sqm in an acre)
60 x 120 ft/18.3 x 36.6m = 669.8sqm (which means there are 6 plots of land measuring 669.8sqm in an acre).

Hectare (ha)

A hectare is a unit of measurement used for large tracts of land or farmland. A hectare of land is about two and a half acres, usually about 15 plots. A hectare of land measures about 100m x 100m, 328 feet x 328 feet, or 10,000 square meters.

It is a known metric unit for measuring land, and potential buyers and land vendors are often at loggerheads on what the unit should be.

These unit measurements can be converted into several units

Frequently Asked Questions About Land Sizes in Cameroon

How big is a standard plot of land in Cameroon?

There is no standard definition, but a typical plot of land in Cameroon stands at around 100ft x 100ft = 30 m x 30 m = 10,000 square feet = 900 square meters. Therefore, a half plot can be described as 50 ft x 100 ft = 15 m x 30 m = 5000 square feet = 450 square meters in measurement.

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

How do you measure the size of a plot of land?

Whether you are buying or selling land, you must know its size. The size of the land can be obtained from the survey plan. However, you should involve a professional surveyor to go out and physically measure the land in the field before you buy (or sell) to avoid any complications.

How many plots of land make an acre?

You are supposed to have a plot of land measuring 900 square meters. As stated above, an acre is the same as 4046.86 square meters. To know how many acres it contains divide 4046.86 sqm by 900 sqm (4046.86/900). while 1 acre has 4.5 plots.

How many plots of land make a hectare?

Since a plot is defined as 900 sqm and a hectare is made up of 10,000 square meters – 1 hectare is equivalent to 15 plots (10,000/900 sqm).

What's a Corner Piece?

A lot of people desire cornerpiece plots for several reasons. A corner piece plot is usually larger than an ordinary plot. These are much more extensive than regular plots. The corner piece is a plot of land located at a road intersection and has a border with at least 2 access roads. This type of land usually has an extra 3 meters added to the sides close to the streets because of the 6-meter setback for routes.

Therefore, instead of the typical 36m x 18m, the size can be increased to 39m x 21m or 36m x 21m. As a result, corner-piece plots of land tend to be more expensive than others in the exact location.

Conclusion

In case you find yourself in land transactions, you can use what we have explained here as your guide to do your marketing. Also, you should always prioritize asking the land vendor what the size of the land for sale is in Square Meters before proceeding with any transaction.