Convert million to lakh and lakh to million for population figures, vote counts and news reports from South Asia, not just money.
1 million = 10 lakh
A lakh is 100,000 and a million is 1,000,000, so a million is ten lakh. Multiply millions by 10 to get lakh (2.5 million is 25 lakh). Divide lakh by 10 to get millions (3.4 lakh is 0.34 million).
Ten lakh is the point where the two systems meet: 10,00,000 in Indian commas is 1,000,000 in international commas. At 100 lakh the Indian system switches to the next unit, the crore.
| Million | Lakh | International | Indian |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 million | 1 | 100,000 | 1,00,000 |
| 0.25 million | 2.5 | 250,000 | 2,50,000 |
| 0.5 million | 5 | 500,000 | 5,00,000 |
| 1 million | 10 | 1,000,000 | 10,00,000 |
| 1.5 million | 15 | 1,500,000 | 15,00,000 |
| 2 million | 20 | 2,000,000 | 20,00,000 |
| 2.5 million | 25 | 2,500,000 | 25,00,000 |
| 5 million | 50 | 5,000,000 | 50,00,000 |
| 7.5 million | 75 | 7,500,000 | 75,00,000 |
| 10 million | 100 | 10,000,000 | 1,00,00,000 |
South Asian news uses lakh for anything countable, not only rupees. Election results, exam entries, rally sizes and vaccination totals are routinely given in lakh. Here is how typical headlines read in international terms:
| As reported | International equivalent |
|---|---|
| Won by 2.5 lakh votes | Won by 250,000 votes |
| 12 lakh students sat the exam | 1.2 million students sat the exam |
| 50 lakh doses administered | 5 million doses administered |
| Crowd of 3 lakh at the festival | Crowd of 300,000 at the festival |
A report says a candidate won by 3.4 lakh votes in a constituency where 18.6 lakh votes were cast. What is that in international figures, and as a share of the vote?
Step 1: Convert both figures
Step 2: Work out the share
A winning margin of 340,000 votes, or 18.3% of votes cast. You can take the percentage straight from the lakh figures (3.4 ÷ 18.6), because both are in the same unit.
The lakh is part of everyday English and local languages across South Asia, alongside the international system:
| Country | Typical usage |
|---|---|
| India | ₹5 lakh, 5 lakh voters |
| Pakistan | Rs 5 lakh |
| Bangladesh | 5 lakh taka |
| Nepal | Rs 5 lakh |
| Sri Lanka | Rs 5 lakh |
10 lakh. One lakh is 100,000, and ten of them make 1,000,000.
25 lakh. Multiply the number of millions by 10.
Yes. "Lac" is an older spelling you'll still see in property listings and some bank documents. Both mean 100,000.
At 100 lakh, which is 10 million. Reports switch from "95 lakh" to "1 crore" around that point.
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