The metric system is based on the decimal (base‑10) number system.

What that means in practice

All metric units scale by powers of ten.

  • 10 millimeters in a centimeter
  • 100 centimeters in a meter
  • 1000 meters in a kilometer

Each step is just “move the decimal point” in base‑10, instead of using mixed factors like 12 inches in a foot or 5280 feet in a mile.

Quick story-style picture

Imagine you have a line of buckets, and each bucket holds exactly 10 of the previous ones.

  • 1 small bucket = 1 milliliter
  • 10 small buckets fill 1 bigger bucket = 1 centiliter
  • 10 of those fill the next = 1 deciliter
  • Keep going and you reach 1 liter

That “always 10 of the previous” structure is exactly how a base‑10 number system works, which is why the metric system is described as a decimal system of measurement.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.