Decimal separator by country
Two systems split the world: a decimal point with comma thousands (US, UK, East Asia) and a decimal comma with dot or space thousands (most of Europe, South America). Importing a CSV across systems can silently turn 1.5 into 15.
| Country / region | Decimal | Thousands | Example (1,234.56) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | . | 1,234.56 | point |
| United Kingdom | . | 1,234.56 | point |
| China | . | 1,234.56 | point |
| Japan | . | 1,234.56 | point |
| South Korea | . | 1,234.56 | point |
| India | . | 12,34,567.89 (lakh/crore grouping) | point |
| Australia | . | 1,234.56 | point |
| Thailand | . | 1,234.56 | point |
| Philippines | . | 1,234.56 | point |
| Germany | , | 1.234,56 | comma |
| France | , | 1 234,56 | comma (space thousands) |
| Spain | , | 1.234,56 | comma |
| Italy | , | 1.234,56 | comma |
| Netherlands | , | 1.234,56 | comma |
| Poland | , | 1 234,56 | comma (space thousands) |
| Russia | , | 1 234,56 | comma (space thousands) |
| Brazil | , | 1.234,56 | comma |
| Turkey | , | 1.234,56 | comma |
| Sweden | , | 1 234,56 | comma (space thousands) |
| Switzerland | . | 1'234.56 | point (apostrophe thousands) |
Notes
- India groups digits 2-2-2 after the hundreds (12,34,567 = 1.23 million) — the only major variant grouping.
- Switzerland uses a decimal point but apostrophes for thousands (1'234.56) in German-speaking cantons.
- ISO/CLI convention: never use space or comma grouping in code output; use SI thin spaces only in human text.
Frequently asked questions
- Which countries use a decimal comma?
- Most of continental Europe (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Poland), Russia, Turkey and Latin America including Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.
- Why does my CSV import break numbers?
- The importing locale expects its own separator: a value like 1,234.56 read under German settings becomes 1 (then text). Export with matching decimal separators or use ISO formatting.
- What does 1.000 mean in Europe?
- In Germany or Italy it usually means one thousand, not one. Context matters — invoices use currency codes to disambiguate.