Germany Number Format

Format Rules

What's different here

German number format

German (de-DE) writes 1234567.89 as 1.234.567,89: a comma for decimals, a period between thousands. The trap for English-speaking developers is reading it back, because 1.234 in a German form means one thousand two hundred thirty-four, not one point two three four. Format with Intl.NumberFormat('de-DE'), and parse with the locale's separators.

de-DE vs de-AT vs de-CH

Same language, three formats. Values are CLDR 48.2 / Intl output for 1234567.89:

Two traps: de-CH uses a period for decimals, the opposite of Germany. de-AT moves the € in front of the amount and groups currency amounts with a period, but plain numbers with a space.

Parsing user input

Number() and parseFloat() only understand the English format:

Number("1.234,56");    // → NaN
parseFloat("1.234,56"); // → 1.234

parseFloat silently returns 1.234, a thousand times too small. Read the separators from the locale instead:

function parseLocaleNumber(input, locale) {
  const parts = new Intl.NumberFormat(locale).formatToParts(12345.6);
  const group = parts.find(p => p.type === 'group').value;
  const decimal = parts.find(p => p.type === 'decimal').value;
  return Number(input.trim().split(group).join('').replace(decimal, '.'));
}
parseLocaleNumber("1.234.567,89", "de-DE"); // → 1234567.89
parseLocaleNumber("1,234", "de-DE");        // → 1.234

The second result is correct German: 1,234 means one point two three four. If your form accepts both formats, ask for the locale or reject ambiguous input.

Compact notation

new Intl.NumberFormat('de-DE', { notation: 'compact' }).format(1234);          // → "1234"
new Intl.NumberFormat('de-DE', { notation: 'compact' }).format(1234567);       // → "1,2 Mio."
new Intl.NumberFormat('de-DE', { notation: 'compact' }).format(1234567890);    // → "1,2 Mrd."
new Intl.NumberFormat('de-DE', { notation: 'compact' }).format(1200000000000); // → "1,2 Bio."
new Intl.NumberFormat('de-DE', { notation: 'compact', compactDisplay: 'long' }).format(1234); // → "1,2 Tausend"

Short compact notation has no abbreviation for thousands, so 1,234 stays 1234. Use compactDisplay: 'long' if you need a word.

Q&A

Where does the € sign go in German?

In de-DE, after the amount with a space: 1.234.567,89 €. Austria (de-AT) puts it in front: € 1.234.567,89.

What do Mio., Mrd. and Bio. mean?

Millionen (10⁶), Milliarden (10⁹) and Billionen (10¹²). A German Milliarde is an English billion, and a German Billion is an English trillion, so 1,2 Bio. is 1.2 trillion. Let Intl pick the abbreviation rather than translating "B".

Is Austrian or Swiss German formatted the same as German?

No. de-CH uses a period for decimals and an apostrophe for thousands. de-AT groups plain numbers with a no-break space and puts € before the amount.

How do I read "1.234" from a German form?

As one thousand two hundred thirty-four. Parse with the locale's separators, as shown above, not with parseFloat.

Code Examples

// Basic number
new Intl.NumberFormat('de-DE').format(1234567.89)
// → "1.234.567,89"

// Currency
new Intl.NumberFormat('de-DE', {
  style: 'currency',
  currency: 'EUR'
}).format(1234567.89)
// → "1.234.567,89 €"

// Percentage
new Intl.NumberFormat('de-DE', {
  style: 'percent',
  minimumFractionDigits: 1
}).format(0.125)

// Compact notation
new Intl.NumberFormat('de-DE', {
  notation: 'compact'
}).format(1234567)

Negative Number Formats

Edge Cases & Notes