Lakh and crore, explained.
What the Indian scale terms mean, how the commas work, and how lakh and crore line up against thousand, million and billion. To convert a specific number, use the converter on the home page.
The scale at a glance
| Value | Indian term | Written (Indian) | International |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10⁵ | One Lakh | 1,00,000 | One Hundred Thousand |
| 10⁶ | Ten Lakh | 10,00,000 | One Million |
| 10⁷ | One Crore | 1,00,00,000 | Ten Million |
| 10⁹ | One Arab (100 crore) | 1,00,00,00,000 | One Billion |
| 10¹¹ | One Kharab | 1,00,00,00,00,000 | One Hundred Billion |
The Indian and international systems agree up to ten thousand. Above that they part ways — both in the words used and in where the commas go.
How the commas work
This is the rule generic tools get wrong. In the Indian system you group the first three digits from the right, then every two digits after that. In the international system you group every three.
| Number | Indian grouping | International grouping |
|---|---|---|
| 1234567 | 12,34,567 | 1,234,567 |
| 100000 | 1,00,000 | 100,000 |
| 10000000 | 1,00,00,000 | 10,000,000 |
So 1234567 reads as "Twelve Lakh Thirty Four Thousand Five Hundred and Sixty Seven" in the Indian system, and "One Million Two Hundred Thirty Four Thousand Five Hundred Sixty Seven" internationally — the same quantity, two different names and two different comma patterns.
Quick conversions people look up
| Indian | = | International |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Lakh | = | 100 Thousand (0.1 Million) |
| 10 Lakh | = | 1 Million |
| 1 Crore | = | 10 Million |
| 100 Crore | = | 1 Billion (1 Arab) |
Questions
- How many zeros in one crore?
- Seven. One crore is 1,00,00,000 (10⁷), which equals ten million.
- How many lakhs make a crore?
- One hundred. A crore is 100 lakh.
- What comes after crore?
- Arab (100 crore, 10⁹), then kharab (100 arab, 10¹¹). These are used less often in everyday speech.