The Government of Yukon takes a flexible approach to writing numbers. It depends what you’re writing.
For materials such as news releases, flyers, brochures, annual reports and internal government documents write numbers one to nine in letters and 10 and above in digits.
If you cannot rearrange a sentence to avoid starting with a number, write the number as a word.
Not: 19 organizations responded to the survey.
But: Nineteen organizations responded to the survey.
Commas
Include a comma in numbers of 1,000 and above.
Not: 2000
But: 2,000
Dates
Do not write dates as ordinals or use superscript.
Not: January 20th, June 21st
But: January 20, June 21
Digital content
In digital content write all numbers as digits. This includes using a digit at the start of a sentence or heading.
Not: Three ways to take part
But: 3 ways to take part
The only exception is when you're using a number as part of a phrase or expression or more casually, such as "One of the ways to take part is to attend a focus group", "It's one of the highest scores" and "Hundreds of people were at the meeting".
Money
This guidance applies to writing about money in materials such as web pages, news releases, speeches, social media content and annual reports. It does not apply to documents such as spreadsheets and financial reports.
You can include “.00” in money amounts if it helps to make formatting consistent.
For millions, round amounts down to 1 or 2 digits after the decimal point.
Not: $110.553 million
But: $110.5 million, $1.55 million
For billions, you can round amounts down to up to 3 digits after the decimal point.
Do not use "k" to mean thousands, use zeroes.
Not: $100k, $100 k
But: $100,000
Be cautious about any rounding up.
View a good example of writing about money in a news release.
View a good example of how to write money amounts.
News release headings
When you're writing a news release heading that starts with a number. Write that number as a digit, not a word.
Ordinals
Ordinals describe the position of things in a list, such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on.
In everything except digital content, write out first to ninth as words. For numbers 10 and above write 10th, 15th, 20th and so on.
Not: They came 3rd in the race, It was their fiftieth anniversary
But: They came third in the race, It was their 50th anniversary
Use ordinals for street names.
Not: Second Avenue, Third Street
But: 2nd Avenue, 3rd Street
View the guidance on writing contact information.
Ordinals in digital content
Always use numbers for ordinals in digital content.
Not: first, second, third, fiftieth
But: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 50th
Never use superscript. This is because screen readers often do not read them out correctly.
Only write ordinals as words when they're part of a phrase or a noun.
Not: 1st aid kit, They were the 1st to arrive.
But: first-aid kit, They were the first to arrive.
Per cent
Write per cent as 2 words in all cases except in financial reports and documents. Use per cent for the Budget address.
Tables
Use digits in tables, not words.
Technical, scientific and financial reports
Write numbers as digits so they're visible and precise.
911
Not: 9-1-1
But: 911