What is “Hemmat”?
Currency Units: The Rise of “Hemat” (Hemmat) in Iran’s Economic Vocabulary In recent years, as financial figures in Iran soar due to inflation and large-scale investments, the need for a simpler way to express enormous sums has given rise to the informal unit of currency known as “همت” ( Hemmat ) . What is “Hemmat”? “Hemmat” is not an official currency; rather, it’s a colloquial shorthand used to denote one thousand billion Iranian tomans — that is, 1,000,000,000,000 tomans . In plain numeric terms, “one Hemmat” equals a 1 followed by 12 zeros, simplifying the pronunciation and writing of otherwise unwieldy large numbers. For example, if a company’s market value reaches 5,000,000,000,000 tomans, economists and financial media may simply state it as “5 Hemmat”. This practice makes reading and discussing massive economic values more accessible. Why Use “Hemmat”? With inflation and large-scale financial flows being common in Iran’s economy, figures expressed in bil...