Money Matters: Austria's Unique Number Style

In Austria, the thousands separator is denoted by a comma, and the decimal separator is denoted by a point. This is the opposite of the convention in the US, UK, and South Africa, where the decimal separator is a comma, and the thousands separator is a point. In some countries, such as Estonia, the thousands separator is a space, and in others, such as Germany, the thousands separator can be either a comma or a point.

In Austria, thousands are separated by intervals

An older convention uses dots to separate thousands, with commas for decimals. For example, 1.234.567,89. This older practice makes it easier to avoid word breaks with larger numbers.

In some countries, the opposite is true. In the USA, Mexico, or the UK, for example, thousands are separated by commas, and decimals by dots. In Spain, South Africa, or Brazil, thousands are separated by dots, and decimals by commas.

Commas are used for decimals

In Austria, commas are used for decimals. This is the opposite of the convention in the US, UK, and South Africa, where a period is used for decimals and a comma for thousands. In Austria, the older convention uses a comma for thousands, but this is no longer the case.

In Austria, the comma is used to separate decimals in prices and other values with decimals. For example, 12,500.50. This practice is used to distinguish between prices and other values with decimals.

The use of the comma as a decimal separator is not unique to Austria. In fact, most of the rest of the world uses a comma for this purpose. For example, in Spain, South Africa, and Brazil, the comma is used as a decimal separator.

The use of the comma as a decimal separator is also common in countries that use the euro as their currency. For example, in Kosovo, the comma is used as a decimal separator, and the point is used to separate thousands. This is the opposite of the convention in Germany, where the point is used as a decimal separator, and the comma is used to separate thousands.

In Germany, thousands separators were occasionally denoted by alternating uses of comma and point

In Austria, the thousands separator is occasionally denoted by alternating uses of a comma and a point. For example, 1.234,567.890,12 for "eine Milliarde 234 Millionen ...". This is also the case in Germany.

In Germany, the use of the comma and point to separate thousands and decimals is not consistent. This is also the case in Austria. In some instances, the comma is used to separate thousands, and in others, the point is used. This can be seen in the example given above, where the number "eine Milliarde 234 Millionen ..." is written with a point to separate the thousands. However, in other instances, the comma may be used to separate the thousands.

The use of the comma and point to separate thousands and decimals in Germany and Austria is not standardised, and both ways of writing numbers are considered correct. This is in contrast to countries like the UK, where the use of the comma and point to separate thousands and decimals is standardised, and only one way of writing numbers is considered correct.

In Estonia, currency numbers often use a dot as the decimal separator, and a space as a thousands separator

In Estonia, currency numbers often use a dot (.) as the decimal separator, and a space as a thousands separator. This is most visible on shopping receipts and in documents that also use other numbers with decimals, such as measurements. This practice is used to better distinguish between prices and other values with decimals. An older convention uses dots to separate thousands (with commas for decimals) — this older practice makes it easier to avoid word breaks with larger numbers.

In Austria, the thousands separator was occasionally denoted by alternating uses of comma and point, e.g. 1.234,567.890,12 for "eine Milliarde 234 Millionen ...". This is similar to the practice in Germany. In Kosovo, they use points as decimal separators, so for example, 1 euro and 55 cents is written as 1.55€. The commas are used for thousands, like in 1,200.

In Portugal, both dots and commas are used for the decimal, so 10 000 000.00 and 10 000 000,00 are both correct. In Russia, the separator for thousands is a period, while the separator for decimals is a comma. In the USA, Mexico, or the UK, twelve thousand five hundred with a decimal of five zero is written as 12 500.50 or 12,500.50. In Spain, South Africa, or Brazil, it would be: 12 500,50 or 12.500,50.

In Kosovo, commas are used for thousands

In some countries, such as Estonia, the convention is to use a dot as the decimal separator and a space as a thousands separator. This is most visible on shopping receipts and in documents that also use other numbers with decimals, such as measurements. This practice is used to better distinguish between prices and other values with decimals.

Historically, in Germany and Austria, thousands separators were occasionally denoted by alternating uses of comma and point, e.g. 1.234,567.890,12 for "eine Milliarde 234 Millionen...". However, this is not the standard practice in Austria today.

In countries where a point is used as a decimal separator, such as the USA, Mexico, or the UK, a comma is usually used to separate thousands. For example, twelve thousand five hundred with a decimal of fifty is written as 12,500.50.

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