Long and short scales

The long and short scales are two of several large-number naming systems for integer powers of ten, that use the same words with different meanings:

Long scale

Every new term greater than million is one million times larger than the previous term. Thus, billion means a million millions (10¹²), trillion means a million billions (10¹⁸), and so on.^[1][2]

Short scale

Every new term greater than million is one thousand times larger than the previous term. Thus, billion means a thousand millions (10⁹), trillion means a thousand billions (10¹²), and so on.^[1][2]

For integers less than a thousand million (< 10⁹) the two scales are identical. From a thousand million up (≥ 10⁹) the two scales diverge, using the same words for different numbers; this can cause misunderstanding.

Countries where the long scale is currently used include most countries in continental Europe and most French-speaking, Spanish-speaking,^[3] and Portuguese-speaking countries except Brazil. The short scale is now used in most English-speaking and Arabic-speaking countries, in Brazil, and several other countries. Number names are rendered in the language of the country, but are similar everywhere due to shared etymology (e.g., billion is billón in Spanish). Some languages, particularly in East Asia and South Asia, have large number naming systems that are different from both the long and short scales, for example the Indian numbering system.^[1][2]

For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, the United Kingdom largely used the long scale,^[4][5] whereas the United States used the short scale,^[4] so that the two systems were often referred to as British and American in the English language. After several decades of increasing informal British usage of the short scale, in 1974 the government of the UK adopted it,^[6] and it is used for all purposes including official.^{[7][8][9][10][11]} With very few exceptions,^[12] the British usage and American usage are now identical.

The first recorded use of the terms short scale (French: échelle courte) and long scale (French: échelle longue) was by the French mathematician Geneviève Guitel in 1975.^[1][2]

Comparison

At and above a thousand million (≥ 10⁹) the same names are used to refer to numbers differing by a factor of an integer power of 1,000.

Each scale has a logical justification to explain the use of each such differing numerical name and value within that scale. The short-scale logic is based on powers of one thousand, whereas the long-scale logic is based on powers of one million. In both scales, the prefix bi- refers to "2" and tri- refers to "3", etc. However only in the long scale do the prefixes beyond one million indicate the actual power or exponent (of 1,000,000). In the short scale, the prefixes refer to one less than the exponent (of 1,000).

The relationship between the numeric values and the corresponding names in the two scales can be described as:

The relationship between the names and the corresponding numeric values in the two scales can be described as:

The root mil in "million" does not refer to the numeral "one". The word million derives from the Old French milion from the earlier Old Italian milione, an intensification of the Latin word mille, a thousand. That is, a million is a "big thousand", much as a "great gross" is a dozen gross or 1728.^[13]

The word milliard, or its translation, is found in many European languages and is used in those languages for 10⁹. However, it is unknown in American English, which uses billion, and not used in British English, which preferred to use thousand million before the current usage of billion. The financial term yard, which derives from milliard, is used on financial markets, as, unlike the term billion, it is internationally unambiguous and phonetically distinct from million. Likewise, many long scale countries use the word billiard (or similar) for a thousand long scale billions (i.e. 10¹⁵), and the word trilliard (or similar) for a thousand long scale trillions (i.e. 10²¹), etc.^{[14][15][16][17][18]}

History

The existence of the different scales means that care must be taken when comparing large numbers between languages or countries, or when interpreting old documents in countries where the dominant scale has changed over time. For example, British-English, French, and Italian historical documents can refer to either the short or long scale, depending on the date of the document, since each of the three countries has used both systems at various times in its history. Today, the United Kingdom officially uses the short scale, but France and Italy use the long scale.

The pre-1974 former British English word billion, post-1961 current French word billion, post-1994 current Italian word bilione, German Billion; Dutch biljoen; Swedish biljon; Finnish biljoona; Danish billion; Polish bilion, Spanish billón; Slovenian bilijon and the European Portuguese word bilião (with an alternate spelling to the Brazilian Portuguese variant, but in Brazil referring to short scale) all refer to 10¹², being long-scale terms. Therefore, each of these words translates to the American English or post-1974 British English word: trillion (10¹² in the short scale), and not billion (10⁹ in the short scale).

On the other hand, the pre-1961 former French word billion, pre-1994 former Italian word bilione, Brazilian Portuguese word bilhão and the Welsh word biliwn all refer to 10⁹, being short scale terms. Each of these words translates to the American English or post-1974 British English word billion (10⁹ in the short scale).

The terms billion and milliard both originally meant 10¹² when introduced.^[13]

• In long scale countries, milliard was redefined down to its current value of 10⁹, leaving billion at its original 10¹² value and so on for the larger numbers.^[13] Some of these countries, but not all, introduced new words billiard, trilliard, etc. as intermediate terms.^{[14][15][16][17][18]}
• In some short scale countries, milliard was redefined down to 10⁹ and billion dropped altogether, with trillion redefined down to 10¹² and so on for the larger numbers.^[13]
• In many short scale countries, milliard was dropped altogether and billion was redefined down to 10⁹, adjusting downwards the value of trillion and all the larger numbers.

Timeline

Date	Event
13th century	The word million was not used in any language before the 13th century. Maximus Planudes (c. 1260–1305) was among the first recorded users.[13]
Late 14th century	Piers Plowman, a 17th-century copy of the original 14th century allegorical narrative poem by William Langland The word million entered the English language. One of the earliest references is William Langland's Piers Plowman (written c. 1360-1387 in Middle English),[13] with Coueyte not his goodes For millions of moneye Translation: Covet not his goods for millions of money
1475	French mathematician Jehan Adam, writing in Middle French, recorded the words bymillion and trimillion as meaning 1012 and 1018 respectively in a manuscript Traicté en arismetique pour la practique par gectouers, now held in the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève in Paris.[19][20][21] ... item noctes que le premier greton dembas vault ung, le second vault ... dix, le trois vault ... [sic] cent, le quart vult mille, le Ve vault dix M, le VIe vault cent M, le VIIe vault Milion, Le VIIIe vault dix Million, Le IXe vault cent Millions, Le Xe vault Mill Millions, Le XIe vault dix mill Millions, Le XIIe vault Cent mil Millions, Le XIIIe vault bymillion, Le XIIIIe vault dix bymillions, Le XVe vault mil [sic] bymillions, Le XVIe vault mil bymillions, Le XVIIe vault dix Mil bymillions, Le XVIIIe vault cent mil bymillions, Le XIXe vault trimillion, Le XXe vault dix trimillions ... Translation: ... Item note that the first counter from the bottom is worth one, the 2nd is worth [...ten, the 3rd is worth...] one hundred, the 4th is worth one thousand, the 5th is worth ten thousand, the 6th is worth one hundred thousand, the 7th is worth a million, the 8th is worth ten millions, the 9th is worth one hundred millions, the 10th is worth one thousand millions, the 11th is worth ten thousand millions, the 12th is worth one hundred thousand million, the 13th is worth a bymillion, the 14th is worth ten bymillions, the 15th is worth one [hundred] bymillions, the 16th is worth one thousand bymillions, the 17th is worth ten thousand bymillions, the 18th is worth hundred thousand bymillions, the 19th is worth a trimillion, the 20th is worth ten trimillions ...
1484	Le Triparty en la Science des Nombres par Maistre Nicolas Chuquet Parisien an extract from Chuquet's original 1484 manuscript French mathematician Nicolas Chuquet, in his article Le Triparty en la Science des Nombres par Maistre Nicolas Chuquet Parisien,[22][23][24] used the words byllion, tryllion, quadrillion, quyllion, sixlion, septyllion, ottyllion, and nonyllion to refer to 1012, 1018, ... 1054. Most of the work was copied without attribution by Estienne de La Roche and published in his 1520 book, L'arismetique.[22] Chuquet's original article was rediscovered in the 1870s and then published for the first time in 1880. ... Item lon doit savoir que ung million vault mille milliers de unitez, et ung byllion vault mille milliers de millions, et [ung] tryllion vault mille milliers de byllions, et ung quadrillion vault mille milliers de tryllions et ainsi des aultres : Et de ce en est pose ung exemple nombre divise et punctoye ainsi que devant est dit, tout lequel nombre monte 745324 tryllions 804300 byllions 700023 millions 654321. Exemple : 745324'8043000'700023'654321 ... [sic] Translation: ...Item: one should know that a million is worth a thousand thousand units, and a byllion is worth a thousand thousand millions, and tryllion is worth a thousand thousand byllions, and a quadrillion is worth a thousand thousand tryllions, and so on for the others. And an example of this follows, a number divided up and punctuated as previously described, the whole number being 745324 tryllions, 804300 byllions 700023 millions 654321. Example: 745324'8043000'700023'654321 ... [sic] The extract from Chuquet's manuscript, the transcription and translation provided here all contain an original mistake: one too many zeros in the 804300 portion of the fully written out example: 745324'8043000 '700023'654321 ...
1514	Guilielmus Budaeus or Guillaume Budé (1467–1540) French mathematician Budaeus (Guillaume Budé), writing in Latin, used the term milliart to mean "Millions of millions" or 1012 in his book De Asse et partibus eius Libri quinque.[25] .. hoc est denas myriadum myriadas, quod vno verbo nostrates abaci studiosi Milliartum appellat, quasi millionum millionem Translation: .. this is ten myriad myriads, which in one word our students of numbers call Milliart, as if a million millions
1549	The influential French mathematician Jacques Pelletier du Mans used the name milliard (or milliart), attributing this meaning to the earlier usage by Guillaume Budé[25]
17th century	With the increased usage of large numbers, the traditional punctuation of large numbers into six-digit groups evolved into three-digit group punctuation. In some places, the large number names were then applied to the smaller numbers, following the new punctuation scheme. In France and Italy, some scientists then began using billion to mean 109, trillion to mean 1012, etc. This usage formed the origins of the later short scale. The majority of scientists either continued to say thousand million or changed the meaning of the Pelletier term, milliard, from "million of millions" down to "thousand million".[13] This meaning of milliard has been occasionally used in England,[4] but was widely adopted in France, Germany, Italy and the rest of Europe, for those keeping the original long scale billion from Adam, Chuquet and Pelletier.
1676	The first published use of milliard as 109 occurred in the Netherlands.[13][26] .. milliart/ofte duysent millioenen.. Translation: ..milliart / also thousand millions..
Early 18th century	The short-scale meaning of the term billion was brought to the British American colonies
1729	The first American appearance of the short scale value of billion as 109 was published in the Greenwood Book of 1729, written anonymously by Prof. Isaac Greenwood of Harvard College[13]
Early 19th century	France widely converted to the short scale, and was followed by the U.S., which began teaching it in schools. Many French encyclopedias of the 19th century either omitted the long scale system or called it "désormais obsolète", a now obsolete system. Nevertheless, by the mid 20th century France had converted back to the long scale.
1923	10 Milliard Mark (1010 mark) stamp 1000 Mark German banknote, over-stamped in red with "Eine Milliarde Mark" (109 mark) Using German banknotes as wallpaper following the 1923 hyperinflation German hyperinflation in the 1920s Weimar Republic caused 'Eintausend Mark' (1000 Mark = 103 Mark) German banknotes to be over-stamped as 'Eine Milliarde Mark' (109 Mark). This introduced large-number names to the German populace. The Mark or Papiermark was replaced at the end of 1923 by the Rentenmark at an exchange rate of 1 Rentenmark = 1 billion (long scale) Papiermark = 1012 Papiermark = 1 trillion (short scale) Papiermark
1926	A Dictionary of Modern English Usage by H. W. Fowler H. W. Fowler's A Dictionary of Modern English Usage[4] noted It should be remembered that "billion" does not mean in American use (which follows the French) what it means in British. For to us it means the second power of a million, i.e. a million millions (1,000,000,000,000); for Americans it means a thousand multiplied by itself twice, or a thousand millions (1,000,000,000), what we call a milliard. Since billion in our sense is useless except to astronomers, it is a pity that we do not conform. Although American English usage did not change, within the next 50 years French usage changed from short scale to long and British English usage changed from long scale to short.
1946	1020 Hungarian pengő banknote issued in 1946 Sweeping up pengő banknotes in the street, following the 1946 introduction of the forint Hyperinflation in Hungary in 1946 led to the introduction of the 1020 pengő banknote. 100 million b-pengő (long scale) = 100 trillion (long scale) pengő = 1020 pengő = 100 quintillion (short scale) pengő. On 1 August 1946, the forint was introduced at a rate of 1 forint = 400 quadrilliard (long scale) pengő = 4 x 1029 pengő = 400 octillion (short scale) pengő.
1948	The 9th General Conference on Weights and Measures received requests to establish an International System of Units. One such request was accompanied by a draft French Government discussion paper, which included a suggestion of universal use of the long scale, inviting the short-scale countries to return or convert.[27] This paper was widely distributed as the basis for further discussion. The matter of the International System of Units was eventually resolved at the 11th General Conference in 1960. The question of long scale versus short scale was not resolved and does not appear in the list of any conference resolutions.[27][28]
1960	The 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures adopted the International System of Units (SI), with its own set of numeric prefixes.[29] SI is therefore independent of the number scale being used. SI also notes the language-dependence of some larger-number names and advises against using ambiguous terms such as billion, trillion, etc.[30] The National Institute of Standards and Technology within the USA also considers that it is best that they be avoided entirely.[31]
1961	The French Government confirmed their official usage of the long scale in the Journal officiel (the official French Government gazette).[32]
1974	British prime minister Harold Wilson (1916–1995) British prime minister Harold Wilson explained in a written answer to the House of Commons that UK government statistics would from then on use the short scale.[7] Hansard,[6] for the 20 December 1974, reported it Mr. Maxwell-Hyslop asked the Prime Minister whether he will make it the practice of his administration that when Ministers employ the word 'billion' in any official speeches, documents, or answers to Parliamentary Questions, they will, to avoid confusion, only do so in its British meaning of 1 million million and not in the sense in which it is used in the United States of America, which uses the term 'billion' to mean 1,000 million. The Prime Minister: No. The word 'billion' is now used internationally to mean 1,000 million and it would be confusing if British Ministers were to use it in any other sense. I accept that it could still be interpreted in this country as 1 million million and I shall ask my colleagues to ensure that, if they do use it, there should be no ambiguity as to its meaning. The BBC and other UK mass media quickly followed the government's lead within the UK. During the last quarter of the 20th century, most other English-speaking countries (the Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, etc.) either also followed this lead or independently switched to the short scale use. However, in most of these countries, some limited long scale use persists and the official status of the short scale use is not clear.
1975	French mathematician Geneviève Guitel introduced the terms long scale (French: échelle longue) and short scale (French: échelle courte) to refer to the two numbering systems.[1][2]
1993	5 x 1011 Yugoslav dinar banknotes from 1993 Hyperinflation in Yugoslavia led to the introduction of 5 x 1011 dinar banknotes. 500 thousand million (long scale) dinars = 5 x 1011 dinar banknotes = 500 billion (short scale) dinars. The later introduction of the new dinar came at an exchange rate of 1 novi dinar = 1 × 1027 dinars = ~1.3 × 1027 pre 1990 dinars.
1994	The Italian Government confirmed their official usage of the long scale.[18]
2009	1014 Zimbabwean dollars banknote from 2009 Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe led to banknotes of 1014 Zimbabwean dollars, marked "One Hundred Trillion Dollars" (short scale), being issued in 2009, shortly ahead of the currency being abandoned.[33][34][35] As of 2013, a new currency has yet to be announced — so foreign currencies are being used instead. 100 trillion (short scale) Zimbabwean dollars = 1014 Zimbabwean dollars = 100 billion (long scale) Zimbabwean dollars = 1027 pre-2006 Zimbabwean dollars.
2013	As of 24 October 2013, the combined total public debt of the United States stood at $17.078 trillion.[36][37] 17 trillion (short scale) US Dollars = 1.7 x 1013 US Dollars = 17 billion (long scale) US Dollars

Current usage

Short and long scale usage throughout the world

  Long scale

  Short scale

  Short scale (+ milliard)

  Both scales

  Other naming system

  No data

Short scale users

English-speaking

10⁶ = one million, 10⁹ = one billion, 10¹² = one trillion, etc.

Most English-language countries and regions use the short scale with 10⁹ = billion. For example:^{[shortscale note 1]}

Arabic-speaking

10⁶ = مَلْيُوْن  malyoon, 10⁹ = مِلْيَار  milyar, 10¹² = تِرِلْيُوْن  trilyoon, etc.

Most Arabic-language countries and regions use the short scale with 10⁹ = مليار   milyar. For example:^{[shortscale note 6][41][42]}

Other short scale

10⁶ = one million, 10⁹ = one milliard / billion, 10¹² = one trillion, etc.

Other countries also use a word similar to trillion to mean 10¹², etc. Whilst a few of these countries like English use a word similar to billion to mean 10⁹, most like Arabic have kept a traditional long scale word similar to milliard for 10⁹. Some examples of short scale use, and the words used for 10⁹ and 10¹², are

Long scale users

The traditional long scale is used by most Continental European countries and by most other countries whose languages derive from Continental Europe (with the notable exceptions of Albania, Greece, Romania,^[48] and Brazil). These countries use a word similar to billion to mean 10¹². Some use a word similar to milliard to mean 10⁹, while others use a word or phrase equivalent to thousand millions.

Spanish-speaking

10⁶ = millón, 10⁹ = mil millones or millardo, 10¹² = billón, etc.

Most Spanish-language countries and regions use the long scale with 10⁹ = mil millones, for example:^{[longscale note 1][51][52]}

French-speaking

10⁶ = million, 10⁹ = milliard, 10¹² = billion, etc.

Most French-language countries and regions use the long scale, for example:^{[longscale note 2][53][54]}

Portuguese-speaking

10⁶ = milhão, 10⁹ = mil milhões or milhar de milhões, 10¹² = bilião

With the notable exception of Brazil, a short scale country, most Portuguese-language countries and regions use the long scale, for example:

Dutch-speaking

10⁶ = miljoen, 10⁹ = miljard, 10¹² =biljoen

Most Dutch-language countries and regions use the long scale, for example:^[56][57]

Other long scale

10⁶ = one million, 10⁹ = one milliard / thousand million, 10¹² = one billion, 10¹⁵ = one billiard / thousand billion, 10¹⁸ = one trillion, etc.

Some examples of long scale use, and the words used for 10⁹ and 10¹², are

Using both

Some countries use either the short or long scales, depending on the internal language being used or the context.

10⁶ = one million, 10⁹ = EITHER one billion (short scale) OR one milliard / thousand million (long scale), 10¹² = EITHER one trillion (short scale) OR one billion (long scale), etc.

Country or Territory	Short scale usage	Long scale usage
Canada [shortscale longscale note 1]	Canadian English   (109 = billion, 1012 = trillion)	Canadian French   (109 = milliard, 1012 = billion) or mille milliards.
Mauritius  Seychelles  Vanuatu	English   (109 = billion, 1012 = trillion)	French   (109 = milliard, 1012 = billion)
Namibia  South Africa [shortscale longscale note 2]	South African English   (109 = billion, 1012 = trillion)	Afrikaans   (109 = miljard, 1012 = biljoen)
Puerto Rico	Economic & technical (109 = billón, 1012 = trillón)	Latin American export publications (109 = millardo or mil millones, 1012 = billón)

Using neither

The following countries use naming systems for large numbers that are not etymologically related to the short and long scales:

Country	Number system	Naming of large numbers
Bangladesh,    India,      Nepal,    Pakistan	Indian Numbering System	For everyday use, but short or long scale may also be in use [other scale note 1]
Bhutan	Dzongkha numerals	Traditional system
Cambodia	Khmer numerals	Traditional system
China (People's Republic of China — PRC)  Taiwan (Republic of China — ROC)	Chinese numerals	Traditional myriad system for the larger numbers; special words and symbols up to 1088
Greece	Arabic numerals	Names derived from Greek words for 100 and 10000: εκατομμύριο ekatommyrio "hundred-myriad" = 106; δισεκατομμύριο disekatommyrio "bi+hundred-myriad" = 109; τρισεκατομμύριο trisekatommyrio "tri+hundred-myriad" = 1012; τετράκις εκατομμύριο tetrakis ekatommyrio "quadri+hundred-myriad" = 1015, and so on.)[65]
Japan	Japanese numerals	Traditional myriad system for the larger numbers; special words and symbols up to 1088
North Korea  South Korea	Korean numerals	Traditional myriad system for the larger numbers; special words and symbols up to 1088
Laos	Lao numerals	Traditional system
Maldives,    Sri Lanka	Sinhala numerals Tamil numerals	Traditional systems
Mongolia	Mongolian numerals	Traditional myriad system for the larger numbers; special words up to 1067
Thailand	Thai numerals	Traditional system based on millions
Vietnam	Vietnamese numerals	Traditional system(s) based on thousands

Presence on most continents

The long and short scales are both present on most continents, with usage dependent on the language used. Examples include:

Notes on current usage

Short scale

1. ↑ English language countries: Apart from the United States, the long scale was used for centuries in many English language countries before being superseded in recent times by short scale usage. Because of this history, some long scale use persists^[12] and the official status of the short scale in anglophone countries other than the UK and US is sometimes obscure.
2. ↑ Australian usage: In Australia, education, media outlets, and literature all use the short scale in line with other English-speaking countries. The current recommendation by the Australian Government Department of Finance and Deregulation (formerly known as AusInfo), and the legal definition, is the short scale.^[38] As recently as 1999, the same department did not consider short scale to be standard, but only used it occasionally. Some documents use the term thousand million for 10⁹ in cases where two amounts are being compared using a common unit of one 'million'.
3. ↑ Filipino usage: Some short-scale words have been adopted into Filipino.
4. ↑ British usage: Billion has meant 10⁹ in most sectors of official published writing for many years now. The UK government, the BBC, and most other broadcast or published mass media, have used the short scale in all contexts since the mid-1970s.^[6][7][8][9]
   Before the widespread use of billion for 10⁹, UK usage generally referred to thousand million rather than milliard.^[10] The long scale term milliard, for 10⁹, is obsolete in British English, though its derivative, yard, is still used as slang in the London money, foreign exchange, and bond markets.
5. ↑ American usage: In the United States of America, the short scale has been taught in school since the early 19th century. It is therefore used exclusively.^[39][40]
6. ↑ Arabic language countries: Most Arabic-language countries use: 10⁶ = میليون  million, 10⁹ = میليار  milyar, 10¹² = تريليون  trilyon, etc.^[41][42]
7. ↑ Indonesian usage: Large numbers are common in Indonesia, in part because its currency (rupiah) is generally expressed in large numbers (the lowest common circulating denomination is Rp100 with Rp1000 is considered as base unit). The term juta, equivalent to million (10⁶), is generally common in daily life. Indonesia officially employs the term miliar (derived from the long scale Dutch word miljard) for the number 10⁹, with no exception. For 10¹² and greater, Indonesia follows the short scale, thus 10¹² is named triliun. The term seribu miliar (a thousand milliards) or more rarely sejuta juta (a million millions) are also used for 10¹² less often. Terms greater than triliun are not very familiar to Indonesians.^[47]

Long scale

1. ↑ Spanish language countries: Spanish-speaking countries sometimes use millardo (milliard)^[51] for 10⁹, but mil millones (thousand millions) is used more frequently. The word billón is sometimes used in the short scale sense in those countries more influenced by the United States, but this is considered unacceptable.^[52]
2. ↑ French usage: France, with Italy, was one of two European countries which converted from the long scale to the short scale during the 19th century, but returned to the original long scale during the 20th century. In 1961, the French Government confirmed their long scale status.^[32][53][54] However the 9th edition of the dictionary of the Académie française describes billion as an outdated synonym of milliard, and that the new meaning of 10¹² was decreed in 1961, but never caught on.^[55]
3. ↑ Esperanto language usage: The Esperanto language words biliono, triliono etc. used to be ambiguous, and both long or short scale were used and presented in dictionaries. The current edition of the main Esperanto dictionary PIV however recommends the long scale meanings, as does the grammar PMEG.^[58] Ambiguity may be avoided by the use of the unofficial but generally recognised suffix -iliono, whose function is analogous to the long scale, i.e. it is appended to a (single) numeral indicating the power of a million, e.g. duiliono (from du meaning "two") = biliono = 10¹², triiliono = triliono = 10¹⁸, etc. following the 1×10^6X long scale convention. Miliardo is an unambiguous term for 10⁹, and generally the suffix -iliardo, for values 1×10^6X+3, for example triliardo = 10²¹ and so forth.
4. ↑ Italian usage: Italy, with France, was one of the two European countries which partially converted from the long scale to the short scale during the 19th century, but returned to the original long scale in the 20th century. In 1994, the Italian Government confirmed its long scale status.^[18]
   In Italian, the word bilione officially means 10¹², trilione means 10¹⁸, etc.. Colloquially, bilione^[59] can mean both 10⁹ and 10¹²; trilione can mean both 10¹² and (rarer) 10¹⁸ and so on. Therefore, in order to avoid ambiguity, they are seldom used. Forms such as miliardo (milliard) for 10⁹, mille miliardi (a thousand milliards) for 10¹², un milione di miliardi (a million milliards) for 10¹⁵, un miliardo di miliardi (a milliard of milliards) for 10¹⁸, mille miliardi di miliardi (a thousand milliard of milliards) for 10²¹ are more common.^[18]

Both long and short scale

1. ↑ Canadian usage: Both scales are in use currently in Canada. English-speaking regions use the short scale exclusively, while French-speaking regions use the long scale, though the Canadian government standards website recommends that in French billion and trillion be avoided, recommending milliard for 10⁹, and mille milliards (a thousand milliards) for 10¹².^[61]
2. ↑ South African usage: South Africa uses both the long scale (in Afrikaans and sometimes English) and the short scale (in English). Unlike the 1974 UK switch, the switch from long scale to short scale took time. As of 2011 most English language publications use the short scale. Some Afrikaans publications briefly attempted usage of the "American System" but that has led to comment in the papers^[62] and has been disparaged by the "Taalkommissie" (The Afrikaans Language Commission of the South African Academy of Science and Art)^[63] and has thus, to most appearances, been abandoned.

Neither long nor short scale

1. ↑ Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi usage: Outside of financial media, the use of billion by Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani English speakers highly depends on their educational background. Some may continue to use the traditional British long scale. In everyday life, Bangladeshis, Indians and Pakistanis largely use their own common number system, commonly referred to as the Indian numbering system — for instance, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Indian English commonly use the words lakh to denote 100 thousand, crore to denote ten million (i.e. 100 lakhs) and arab to denote thousand million.^[64]

Alternative approaches

Unambiguous ways of identifying large numbers include:

• In written communications, the simplest solution for moderately large numbers is to write the full amount, for example 1,000,000,000,000 rather than, say, 1 trillion (short scale) or 1 billion (long scale).
• Combinations of the unambiguous word million, for example: 10⁹ = "one thousand million"; 10¹² = "one million million". This becomes rather unwieldy for numbers above 10¹².
• Combination of numbers of more than 3 digits with the unambiguous word million, for example 13,600 million^[66]
• Scientific notation (also known as standard form or exponential notation, for example 1×10⁹, 1×10¹⁰, 1×10¹¹, 1×10¹², etc.), or its engineering notation variant (for example 1×10⁹, 10×10⁹, 100×10⁹, 1×10¹², etc.), or the computing variant E notation (for example 1e9, 1e10, 1e11, 1e12, etc.) This is the most common practice among scientists and mathematicians, and is both unambiguous and convenient.
• SI prefixes in combination with SI units, for example, giga for 10⁹ and tera for 10¹² can give gigawatt (=10⁹ W) and terawatt (=10¹² W), respectively. The International System of Units (SI) is independent of whichever scale is being used.^[29] Use with non-SI units (e.g. "giga-dollars", "giga-miles") is uncommon although "megabucks" is in informal use representing a large sum of money rather than exactly a million dollars.

See also

References

External links

• BBC News article: "Is trillion the new billion?"