How many zeros are in a million, a billion and a trillion?

Big numbers in English climb in steps of three zeros. Write a number with commas and every comma marks one step: 1,000 is a thousand, 1,000,000 is a million, 1,000,000,000 is a billion. Count the groups of three and the name follows.

The Latin prefixes carry the pattern. Bi- means two, tri- three, quadri- four, quinti- five, and each one counts the groups of three zeros that come after the first thousand. That gives a simple formula: zeros = 3 × (prefix + 1). A trillion is 3 × (3 + 1) = 12. A quintillion is 3 × (5 + 1) = 18.

Which banknote shows each big number?

Hyperinflation pushed governments up this ladder faster than any math class. Here is a real note for each rung, from a single million to a sextillion.

Look at the Hungarian catalog numbers. Pick 128 is a trillion, Pick 131 a quadrillion, Pick 134 a quintillion and Pick 137 a sextillion. Every third number in the 1946 series reaches a new name on the American ladder, all of them printed within a single year. Our guide to Hungary's 1946 hyperinflation covers how prices got there.

How many zeros are in a quadrillion and a quintillion?

A quadrillion has 15 zeros and a quintillion has 18. Outside astronomy and chemistry, almost nobody needs either word. Hungary needed both in 1946.

The pengő lost value so fast after the Second World War that new units were stacked on top of it to keep the numbers printable. The milpengő was one million pengő. The b.-pengő was one billió pengő, the Hungarian word for a million million, or 10¹². So a note reading 1,000,000 b.-pengő stood for 10⁶ × 10¹² = 10¹⁸ pengő: one quintillion.

The largest note to circulate, the 100 million b.-pengő (Pick 136), stood for 100 quintillion pengő, a 1 followed by 20 zeros. It is dated June 3, 1946, entered circulation on July 11 and was withdrawn on July 31. On August 1, 1946 the forint replaced the pengő at 400 octillion pengő to one forint: a 4 followed by 29 zeros. Our reference page on the 100 quintillion pengő has the full story of that note.

A quintillion sounds like a made-up number. In Hungary, in the summer of 1946, it was printed on money.

Which banknote has the most zeros printed on it?

Zimbabwe's 100 trillion dollar note of 2008 prints its value in full: 100,000,000,000,000, fourteen zeros. The Hungarian notes stand for far bigger numbers, but they do it with unit words. Milpengő and b.-pengő let a short figure on the face carry a trillion or a quintillion behind it.

So the answer depends on the question. For zeros you can count on the face of a note, Zimbabwe leads. For value, Hungary does. Our complete guide to the Zimbabwe 100 trillion covers the note itself, and our page on the highest denomination banknote ever printed ranks both records side by side.

Is a billion the same number everywhere?

No. The ladder above is the short scale, used in the United States and, since 1974, in official British usage. That year Prime Minister Harold Wilson, answering a written question in Parliament, said: "The word 'billion' is now used internationally to mean 1,000 million."

Most of continental Europe and Latin America still use the long scale, where 1,000,000,000 is a milliard and a billion is a million million. That is why the "b." in b.-pengő means 10¹², and why a German note from 1923 marked in Billionen Mark is a trillion marks to an American reader. Before you count zeros on a foreign note, check which language is doing the counting.

How do you count the zeros on a banknote quickly?

1. Find the numerals. The words on a note are in its own language and may follow the long scale.
2. Split the zeros into threes from the right. 100,000,000,000,000 becomes 100 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 000.
3. Count the groups. Two groups is a million, three a billion, four a trillion, five a quadrillion.
4. Apply any unit word. Milpengő multiplies by a million and b.-pengő by 10¹². A modern Venezuelan note works the other way: the 500 Bolívares note equals 500 million old bolívares because six zeros were cut in 2021.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many zeros are in a trillion?

Twelve. A trillion is 1,000,000,000,000, a million millions. Zimbabwe's 100 trillion dollar note adds two more for 14.

How many zeros are in a quadrillion?

Fifteen. Hungary's 1946 1 milliárd milpengő note (Pick 131) is exactly one quadrillion pengő.

How many zeros are in a quintillion?

Eighteen. Hungary's 1946 1,000,000 b.-pengő note (Pick 134) is exactly one quintillion pengő.

How many zeros are in a googol?

One hundred. No banknote comes close. The largest note that circulated, Hungary's 100 million b.-pengő, stood for a 1 followed by 20 zeros.

Which banknote has the most zeros?

Counting zeros printed on the face, Zimbabwe's 2008 100 trillion dollar note leads with fourteen. Counting value, Hungary's 1946 100 million b.-pengő is the record at 10²⁰ pengő.

Is a billion the same in the US and the UK?

Yes, today both use 1,000,000,000, and the UK made it official in 1974. Much of continental Europe and Latin America still uses "billion" for 1,000,000,000,000.