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Billion


In the American system, one billion equals 10^9=1000000000. In the French and German systems, one billion equals 10^(12).

In recent years, the "American" system has become common in both the United States and Britain. In the words of The Chicago Manual of Style (2003), "The American definitions are gaining acceptance, but writers need to remember the historical geographic distinctions." This use of a common meaning for "billion" constitutes a fortunate development for standardization of terminology, albeit a somewhat regrettable development from the point of view that the British convention for representing large numbers is simpler and more logical than the American one.


See also

Large Number, Milliard, Million, Trillion

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References

The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, pp. 203 and 382, 2003.

Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha

Billion

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Billion." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Billion.html

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