Editing Long and short scales (section)

====English-speaking====
{{block indent|''10<sup>6</sup>, one million; 10<sup>9</sup>, one billion; 10<sup>12</sup>, one trillion; etc.''}}

Most English-language countries and regions use the short scale with 10<sup>9</sup> being ''billion''. For example:{{#tag:ref|'''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Apart from the United States, the long scale was used for centuries in many English language countries before being superseded in recent times by short scale usage.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<ref name="nielsen" /> and the official status of the short scale in anglophone countries other than the UK and US is sometimes obscure.<ref name="Smith" /> |group="shortscale note"}}

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* {{AUS}}{{#tag:ref|'''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.<ref name="rba">
{{cite web
 |title= RBA: Definition of billion
 |publisher= [[Reserve Bank of Australia]]
 |url= http://www.rba.gov.au/glossary/index.html?search=billion
 |access-date= 22 August 2011}}
</ref> 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 10<sup>9</sup> in cases where two amounts are being compared using a common unit of one 'million'. |group="shortscale note"}}<ref name="rba" />
* {{CAN}} (English-speaking) ''see'' [[#Using both|Using both]] ''below''
* {{IRL}} (English-speaking, {{langx|ga|billiún}}, ''trilliún'')
* {{UK}}{{#tag:ref|'''British usage''': ''Billion'' has meant 10<sup>9</sup> 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.<ref name="haroldwilson" /><ref name="odonnell" /><ref name="blastland">{{Cite news
 |work= BBC
 |title= BBC News: Who wants to be a trillionaire?
 |date= 7 May 2007
 |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/more_or_less/6625545.stm
 |access-date= 11 May 2010
}}</ref><ref name="comrie" />{{paragraph break}} Before the widespread use of ''billion'' for 10<sup>9</sup>, UK usage generally referred to ''thousand million'' rather than milliard.<ref name="oxford" /> The long scale term ''milliard'', for 10<sup>9</sup>, is obsolete in British English, though its derivative, ''yard'', is still used as slang in the London money, foreign exchange, and bond markets. |group="shortscale note"}}<ref name="haroldwilson" /><ref name="odonnell" /><ref name="blastland" /><ref name="comrie" /><ref name="oxford" />
* {{USA}}{{#tag:ref|'''American usage''': In the United States, the short scale has been taught in school since the early 19th century. It is therefore used exclusively.<ref name="cambridge-billion">{{cite encyclopedia
 |title= billion
 |encyclopedia= Cambridge Dictionaries Online
 |publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]]
 |url= http://dictionaries.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=billion*1+0&amp;dict=A
 |access-date= 21 August 2011
 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="cambridge-trillion">{{cite web
 |title= trillion
 |work= Cambridge Dictionaries Online
 |publisher= Cambridge University Press
 |url= http://dictionaries.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=trillion*1+0&amp;dict=A
 |access-date= 21 August 2011
 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> |group="shortscale note"}}<ref name="cambridge-billion" /><ref name="cambridge-trillion" />
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