Large number units·3 billion
3 billion
3,000,000,000
10^9 · 10

3 billion — 3,000,000,000

3 times 10^9, a 10-digit number. Cut by three it reads 3,000,000,000, Indian style 3,00,00,00,000, and by four 30,0000,0000.

Grouped by three
3,000,000,000
Indian grouping
3,00,00,00,000
Grouped by four
30,0000,0000
Digits
10
Value
3 × 10^9
Same value, another name
3 arab

Counted in other units

  • lakh30000
  • crore300
  • million3000
  • billion3
  • man (万)300000
  • eok (億)30
  • jo (兆)0.003

Only the Indian grouping is uneven

Only the last three digits are taken off; after that it goes in twos. That is because lakh (10⁵) and crore (10⁷) each step up by two digits. Ten million is therefore written 1,00,00,000 rather than 10,000,000. It looks like a misplaced comma at first, but it is the standard across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

East Asia counts in fours

After 만 comes 억, then 조, then 경 — a new name every four digits. But the commas printed on screens are usually in threes, so in Korea, Japan and China the separators and the words fall out of step. Reading 1,000,000,000 as 십억 means ignoring the commas and recounting in fours from the right.

Nearby multipliers

2 billion
2,000,000,000
5 billion
5,000,000,000

Same unit, other multipliers

1 billion
1,000,000,000
2 billion
2,000,000,000
3 billion
3,000,000,000
5 billion
5,000,000,000
10 billion
10,000,000,000
20 billion
20,000,000,000
50 billion
50,000,000,000
100 billion
100,000,000,000
500 billion
500,000,000,000
1000 billion
1,000,000,000,000

Same multiplier, other units

3 man (万)
30,000
3 lakh
300,000
3 million
3,000,000
3 crore
30,000,000
3 eok (億)
300,000,000
3 billion
3,000,000,000
3 arab
3,000,000,000
3 trillion
3,000,000,000,000
3 jo (兆)
3,000,000,000,000
3 gyeong (京)
30,000,000,000,000,000

Where conversions go wrong

Swapping names without counting digits slips by factors of ten. A crore is 1,000만, not 1억; a billion is 10억, not 1조. The safe move is to compare powers of ten rather than words — which is why every cell here carries its exponent.

How to read this

  • Value = multiplier × a power of ten. Nothing here is stored data.
  • The same number is shown cut three ways: by three, Indian style, and by four.
  • Changing units only moves the decimal point, so nothing is rounded.
  • Compare powers of ten, not names. A crore is 0.1억.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What is 3 billion in figures?

3,000,000,000 — 3 times 10^9, a 10-digit number.

Q. How is it written Indian style?

3,00,00,00,000. The last three digits come off first, then it goes in twos.

Q. And grouped by four?

30,0000,0000, because 만, 억 and 조 step up every four digits.

Q. What is it in other units?

lakh 30000 · crore 300 · million 3000 · billion 3 · man (万) 300000 · eok (億) 30 · jo (兆) 0.003