Information units

Information units are used in the fields of information technology, telecommunications, and digital media and imaging. They include units for data storage, data flow rates and image resolution.

The SI does not include units of information, although some information units are derived from a combination of SI units and information units.

Examples of information units

Name	Symbol	Quantity	Expressed in terms of SI base units
bit	bit	data
byte	B	data
pixel	px	picture element
pixel per metre	px/m	pixel resolution	m-1
megapixel per square centimetre	Mpx/cm2	pixel density	m-2
bit per second	bit/s	data rate	s-1
byte per second	B/s	data rate	s-1
bit per pixel	bit/px	colour depth

Prefixes

Multiples of information units can be formed using either SI prefixes, or IEC binary prefixes.

When SI prefixes are used with information units, they should be used only when referring strictly to multiples of powers of 10.