One billion is 1 followed by nine zeros. Or at least, that's what it is in the Short Scale. A huge section of the world uses an alternative system for naming numbers, known as the Long Scale. So what's the difference? Both scales are identical up to 1,000,000 (one million). After this the prefixes 'bi', 'tri', 'quad', 'quin', etc... are used. Where the scales differ is in how many zeros are added before you advance to the next prefix. In the short scale, you advance to the next prefix every three zeroes (1,000). In the long scale, the prefix augments every six zeroes (1,000,000). This means that one billion in the long scale is 1 followed by twelve zeroes, instead of nine. So what is 1 with nine zeroes called in the long scale? A milliard.
Bonus:
Seventeen countries use neither the long scale, nor the short scale, but their own local variants. Amongst these are many oddities, such as vigesimal (base 20) systems, and ones where the prefix advances every two zeroes (meaning 1 million is written 10,00,000 as opposed to 1,000,000).
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