Arab (Indian) (arab)
One hundred crore (10⁹), the same as a short-scale billion. Used in the South Asian number system.
1 arab (Indian) = 1,000,000,000 pieces (exactly).
About the arab (Indian)
Western numbers are named in steps of a thousand, with a new word at each third power of ten: thousand, million, billion. The Indian system adds a new word at every second power instead, giving lakh for 100,000, crore for 10 million, arab for 1,000 million and kharab for 100,000 million. An arab is a hundred crore, or 10 to the ninth power.
That equals the short-scale billion, so the two words name the same quantity, which sometimes causes confusion between Indian and international usage. Digits are grouped to match: the first three from the right are one group, and then pairs follow, so an arab is written 1,00,00,00,000 rather than 1,000,000,000.
The system is official and preferred in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and Indian English publications use lakh and crore for rupee amounts. Nepal and Sri Lanka used it in the past but have moved to the international system, and the Maldives still uses lakh in speech. Sanskrit mathematicians such as Shridhara named large numbers beyond koti in several incompatible ways, so older texts do not always give the same value.
Sources: Wikipedia: Indian numbering system
Arab (Indian) conversion chart
1 arab (Indian) expressed in every other counting & quantity unit:
| Unit | 1 arab (Indian) |
|---|---|
| Pieces | 1,000,000,000 |
| Dozens | 83,333,333.33 |
| Lakhs | 10,000 |
| Millions | 1,000 |
| Crores | 100 |
| Billions (short Scale) | 1 |
| Pairs | 500,000,000 |
| Hundred | 10,000,000 |
| Gross | 6,944,444.444 |
| Thousand | 1,000,000 |
| Trillions (short Scale) | 0.001 |
| Score | 50,000,000 |
| Half Dozens | 166,666,666.7 |
| Quadrillions | 0.000001 |
| Reams | 2,000,000 |
| Moles | 1.660539067×10⁻¹⁵ |
| Baker's Dozens | 76,923,076.92 |
| Small Gross | 8,333,333.333 |
| Great Gross | 578,703.7037 |
| Myriads | 100,000 |
| Yi / Oku | 10 |
| Kharab (Indian) | 0.01 |
| Billions (long Scale) | 0.001 |
| Quires | 40,000,000 |
More Indian subcontinent units
- lakh (counting & quantity)
- crore (counting & quantity)
- kharab (Indian) (counting & quantity)
- tola (weight & mass)
- seer (weight & mass)
- maund (weight & mass)
- guntha (area)
- cent (India) (area)
- marla (area)
- kanal (area)
- ghati (time)
- muhurta (time)
- prahar (time)
Browse all counting & quantity units.