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Country-Specific Data Formats


Country-specific data formats include the following:

Thousands Separators

The comma, period, space, and apostrophe are examples of valid separators for units of thousands as shown in the following examples:

1 234 567
1.234.567
1'234'567
1,234,567

Decimal Separators

The period, comma, and the center dot are examples of valid separators for decimal fractions as shown in the following examples:

5,324
5.324
5 324

Grouping Separators

Grouping may not be restricted to thousands separators as shown in the following examples:

400,001.00
40,0001,00

Positive and Negative Values

Various countries indicate positive and negative values differently. The symbols + (plus) and - (minus) can appear either before or after the number. Negative numbers can be enclosed in parentheses in applications such as a spreadsheet.

Currency

Currency formats differ among various countries. The comma, period, and colon are examples of valid separators for currency. There can be one or no space between the currency symbol and the amount. The currency symbol can be up to four characters. The following example shows valid currency values:

Sch3.50
SFr. 5.-
3.50FIM
25 c
3F50
760 Ptas
Esc. 3.50
kr. 3,50

Date Formats

Most countries use the Gregorian calendar, but some do not. Dates can be formatted differently based on the locale. Separators can be different in different locales or left out altogether. The hyphen, comma, period, space, and slash are all examples of valid separators for the day, month, and year. In numeric date formats, the month and day fields can be reversed, and, in some cases, the year field can come first. For example, the 4th of August 1992 can be written as either 4/8/92 or 8/4/92 depending on locale. In addition, users in other countries sometimes place the year first, so June 11, 1992 could be 920611 or 921106.

Time Formats

Time formats can change based on locale. The colon, period, and space are examples of valid separators for hours, minutes, and seconds. The letter h can separate hours and minutes. There is both 12-hour or 24-hour notation. separated by a space. The following example shows a number of valid time formats:

1830
18:30
04 56
08h15
13:07:31.30
13:07:31

Telephone Numbers

Telephone numbers can contain blanks, commas, hyphens, periods, and brackets as valid separators, for example. Telephone numbers can be displayed in local, national, and international formats. Local formats vary widely. National formats can have an area code in parentheses, while the international format can drop the parentheses but add a + (plus sign) at the beginning of the number to indicate the country code. The following examples show valid telephone number formats:

(038) 473589
+44 (038) 473549
617.555.2199
(617) 555-2199
1 (617) 555-5525
(1) 617 555 5525
911
1-800-ORDERME

Proper Names and Addresses

Addresses can vary from two to six lines long and can include any character used in the locale's character set.

The post code (zip code) can be in various positions in the address and can include alphabetic characters and separators as well as numbers.