In depth
Calling codes shared by several countries
206 calling codes cover 245 countries and territories, so some codes are shared. The first digits of the national number decide which country a number belongs to. These are the ten most shared codes in the library's data.
| Code | Countries | Which |
|---|---|---|
| +1 | 25 | American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda and 19 more |
| +44 | 4 | Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, United Kingdom |
| +61 | 3 | Australia, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
| +590 | 3 | Guadeloupe, St. Barthélemy, St. Martin |
| +358 | 2 | Åland Islands, Finland |
| +599 | 2 | Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao |
| +39 | 2 | Italy, Vatican City |
| +7 | 2 | Kazakhstan, Russia |
| +262 | 2 | Mayotte, Réunion |
| +212 | 2 | Morocco, Western Sahara |
How to dial another country, step by step
A call abroad has three parts: the exit code of the country you are in, the calling code of the country you are calling, and the number without its trunk prefix. Calling the UK number 020 7946 0958 from the US means dialling 011 44 20 7946 0958: the exit code 011, the UK code 44, and the number with its leading 0 dropped. Calling the US from the UK means 00 1 213 373 4253. On a mobile phone, the plus sign replaces the exit code.
Codes that belong to no country
Nine calling codes are not tied to any country: +800 (universal international toll-free), +808 (shared cost), +870 (Inmarsat), +878 (universal personal telecommunications), +881 (global mobile satellite), +882 and +883 (international networks), +888 (United Nations humanitarian use) and +979 (international premium rate). The library calls these non-geographic and returns no country for them.
Reading the columns
- Calling code: the digits after the plus sign.
- Exit code: what you dial to leave that country. Blank where the country uses several or a pattern the table cannot show as one number.
- Trunk prefix: the digit dialled before a national number inside the country. It is dropped when you add the calling code.