The metric dunam used in Turkey, Israel, Palestine, Syria and the Balkans is exactly 1,000 m², so the conversion is a move of the decimal point: 3.5 dunams are 3,500 m². Iraq is the main exception, where one dunam is 2,500 m². Older documents may use other sizes, such as the Cypriot donum of about 1,337.8 m² or the Ottoman dunam of about 919.3 m² in Palestine before 1928.
Formula
Dunam by region
The dunam is not the same everywhere. Values below are documented regional definitions with their sources; your land records or local revenue office decide which one applies. More about the dunam.
| Region | 1 dunam in square meters | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Metric dunam (Turkey, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Balkans) | 1,000 | = 1,000 m² = 1 decare = 0.1 ha · Wikipedia: Dunam (metric dunam; Israel Central Bureau of Statistics) |
| Iraq | 2,500 | = 2,500 m² = 0.25 ha · Central Statistical Organization of Iraq (COSIT), Annual Abstract of Statistics 2024, agriculture |
| Cyprus (before 1986) | 1,337.8 | = 4 evlek of 3,600 sq ft = 14,400 sq ft = 40/121 acre · Wikipedia: Cypriot units of measurement (Cardarelli 2003) |
| Old Turkish dunam (Palestine, before 1928) | 919.3 | Ottoman-era dunam ≈ 919.3 m² · Wikipedia: Dunam (El-Eini, Mandated Landscape, 2006) |
Dunam to Square Meters conversion table (Metric dunam (Turkey, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Balkans))
| Dunam | Square Meters |
|---|---|
| 0.25 dunam | 250 m² |
| 0.5 dunam | 500 m² |
| 1 dunam | 1,000 m² |
| 2 dunam | 2,000 m² |
| 3 dunam | 3,000 m² |
| 4 dunam | 4,000 m² |
| 5 dunam | 5,000 m² |
| 6 dunam | 6,000 m² |
| 7 dunam | 7,000 m² |
| 8 dunam | 8,000 m² |
| 9 dunam | 9,000 m² |
| 10 dunam | 10,000 m² |
| 15 dunam | 15,000 m² |
| 20 dunam | 20,000 m² |
| 25 dunam | 25,000 m² |
| 30 dunam | 30,000 m² |
| 40 dunam | 40,000 m² |
| 50 dunam | 50,000 m² |
| 60 dunam | 60,000 m² |
| 70 dunam | 70,000 m² |
| 75 dunam | 75,000 m² |
| 80 dunam | 80,000 m² |
| 90 dunam | 90,000 m² |
| 100 dunam | 100,000 m² |
| 250 dunam | 250,000 m² |
| 500 dunam | 500,000 m² |
| 1,000 dunam | 1,000,000 m² |
Where you’ll use it
Land registries, zoning plans and agricultural statistics across the region give area in dunams, while engineers, architects and international buyers work in square meters. The conversion is also needed when comparing Iraqi farm statistics with those of neighbors, because the same word covers 2,500 m² in Iraq and 1,000 m² next door. Historians and genealogists reading Ottoman or Mandate-era records face the older sizes.
Tip: Check the country and the date on the document before converting. A modern Turkish or Israeli dunam is 1,000 m², an Iraqi one 2,500 m², and pre-1928 Palestinian or pre-1986 Cypriot records may use older values.