A telephone numbering plan is a system that allows subscribers to make and receive telephone calls across long distances. The area code is that part of the telephone number that specifies a telephone exchange system. Telephone numbering plans assign area codes to exchanges, so that dialers may contact telephones outside their local system. Normally occurring at the beginning of the number, area codes usually indicate geographical areas. Together, numbering plans and their component area codes direct telephone calls to particular regions on a public switched telephone network (PSTN), where they are further routed by the local network.

Callers within the geographical area of a given area code usually do not need to include this particular area code in the number dialed, thereby giving the caller shorter local telephone numbers. In international phone numbers, the area code directly follows the country calling code.

Although the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has attempted to promote common standards among nation states, numbering plans take different formats in different parts of the world. For example, the ITU recommends that member states adopt 00 as their international access code. However, as these recommendations are not binding on member states, some have not, such as the United States, Canada, and other countries and territories participating in the North American Numbering Plan.

The international numbering plan establishes country codes, that is, area codes that denote nations or groups of nations. The E.164 standard regulates country codes at the international level and sets a maximum length limit on a full international phone number. However, it is each country's responsibility to define the numbering within its own network. As a result, regional area codes may have:

• A fixed length, e.g. 3 digits in the United States and Canada; 1 digit in Australia.
• A variable length, e.g. between 2 and 5 in Germany and in Austria; between 1 and 3 in Japan; 1 or 2 in Israel.
• Or be incorporated into the subscriber's number, as is the case in many countries, such as Spain or Norway. This is known as a "closed" telephone numbering plan. In some cases a trunk code (usually 0) must still be dialled, as in Belgium, Switzerland and South Africa.

Generally the area codes determine the cost of a call. Calls within an area code and often a small group of adjacent or overlapping area codes are normally charged at a lower rate than outside the area. Special area codes are generally used for free, premium rate, mobile phone systems (in countries where the mobile phone system is caller pays) and other special rate numbers. There are however some exceptions, in some countries (e.g. Israel), calls are charged at the same rate regardless of area and in others (e.g. the UK) an area code is occasionally treated as two parts with different rates.

Open dialing plans

An open dialing plan is one in which there are different dialing arrangements for local and long distance telephone calls. This means that to call another number within the same city or area, callers need only dial the number, but for calls outside the area, an area code is required. The area code is prefixed by a trunk code (usually "0"), which is omitted when calling from outside the country. To call a number in Amsterdam in the Netherlands for example:

In the United States, Canada, and other countries or territories using the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), the trunk code is '1', which is also (by coincidence) the country calling code. To call a number in San Francisco, the dialing procedure will vary:

However, in parts of North America, especially where a new area code overlays an older area code, dialing 1 + area code is now required even for local calls, which means that the NANP is now closed in certain areas and open in others. Dialing from mobile phones is different in that the trunk code is not necessary. (Most mobile phones today can be programmed to automatically append a frequently-called area code as a prefix, allowing calls within the desired area to be dialed by the user as seven-digit numbers, though sent by the phone as 10-digit numbers.)

Open and closed dialing plan should not be confused with open and closed numbering plans. A closed numbering plan, such as found in North America, features fixed length area codes and local numbers. An open numbering plan, as found in assorted countries that have not yet standardized, features variance in length of area code or local number, or both. Closed dialing plans are rare where numbering plans are open.

Closed dialing plans

A closed numbering plan is one in which the subscriber's number is a standard length, and a closed dialing plan is one in which the subscriber's number is used for all calls, even in the same area. This has traditionally been the case in small countries and territories where area codes have not been required. However, there has been a trend in many countries towards making all numbers a standard length, and incorporating the area code into the subscriber's number. This usually makes the use of a trunk code obsolete. For example, to call Oslo in Norway before 1992, one would dial:

After 1992, this changed to a closed eight-digit numbering plan, eg:

In other countries, such as France, Belgium, Switzerland, and South Africa, the trunk code is retained for domestic calls, whether local or national, eg:

While the use of full national dialing is less user-friendly than only using a local number without the area code, the increased use of mobile phones, which require full national dialing and can store numbers, means that this is of decreasing importance. It also makes easier to display numbers in the international format, as no trunk code is required- hence a number in Prague Czech Republic can now be displayed as:

Numbering plans by country

Argentina

Main article: Argentine telephone numbering planCountry Code: 54
International Prefix: 00

Australia

Main article: Australian telephone numbering plan

Country Code: 61
International Prefix: 0011

Telephone numbers in Australia consist of a single-digit area code (prefixed with an 0 when dialling within Australia) and eight-digit local numbers, the first four of which generally specify the exchange, and the final four a line at that exchange. (Most exchanges though have several four-digit exchange codes.) Within Australia, the area code is only required to call from one area code to another. Mobile phone numbers consist of a four-digit code, followed by two sets of three-digit codes.

Australia is divided geographically into a few large area codes, some of which cover more than one state and territory. Prior to the introduction of eight-digit numbers in the early to mid-1990s, telephone numbers were seven digits in the major capital cities, with a single-digit area code, and six digits in other areas with a two-digit area code. There were more than sixty such codes by 1990, with numbers running out, thus spurring the reorganisation.

Following reorganisation of the numbering plan between 1996 and 1998, the following numbering ranges are now used:

The system is not perfect; the codes do not strictly follow state borders. For example, Broken Hill in New South Wales is in the 08 area code, due to its previous area code of 080.

Austria

Main article: Area codes in Austria

Country Code: 43

Brazil

Main article: Brazilian telephone numbering plan

Country Code: 55
International Prefix: 00 xx

In Brazil, long distance and international dialling requires the use of carrier selection codes, after the trunk code or international access code. The places where these codes are inserted are shown here by "xx" Some of these codes are.

• 15 for Telefónica
• 21 for Embratel
• 23 for Intelig
• 31 for Telemar

Area codes are distributed geographically (See List of Brazilian area codes for a list). National dialing is prefixed with 0 (the trunk code) followed by the carrier code (see above) then the area code and the number. For example, to call Rio de Janeiro from another city in Brazil, one would dial the trunk code '0', a two-digit code, the area code '21' and the subscriber's number. Consequently, a Rio de Janeiro number would be displayed in Brazil as

A few areas use nnn-nnnn in lieu of nnnn nnnn, such as such as Natal (the area code for that state is '84', in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in northeastern Brazil. However, this practice will be phased out in 2006.

Mobile phone numbers are within the normal area codes but prefixed with the digit '7', '8' or '9'. They generally have eight digits (including the 7/8/9). Exceptions exist in Brasilia.

China (PRC)

The Hong Kong and Macau special adminsitrative regions have their own separate country codes and telephone numbering plans.

Main article: China telephone numbering plan

Country Code: 86
International Prefix: 00

Colombia

Country Code: 57

Main article: Colombian telephone numbering plan

Cyprus

See Numbering plan of Cyprus

Czech Republic

Country Code: 420

Following the break-up of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the successor states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, continued to share the 42 country code, until 1997, with the Czech Republic adopting 420 and Slovakia adopting 421.

On September 22, 2002, the Czech Republic adopted a closed numbering plan, with nine-digit numbers used for local and national calls, and the dropping of the trunk code 0.

Before the change, the following arrangements would have been made for calls to Brno:

After the change, the dialling arrangements were as follows:

In the case of mobile numbers, which had to be dialled in full, the only change was that the 0 was no longer used:

East Timor (Timor Leste)

Country Code: 670

Until September 1999, East Timor formed part of the Indonesian numbering plan, using the Country Code +62, followed by area codes for the two largest cities, Dili (390) and

A new country code +670 was allocated to East Timor, but international access often remains severely limited. A complicating factor is the fact that 670 was previously used by the Northern Marianas, with many carriers not aware that the code is now used by East Timor. (The Northern Marianas, now part of the North American Numbering Plan, use the code 1 and the area code 670.)

East Timor now has a closed numbering plan; all subscribers' numbers are seven digits.

Telephone numbering in East Timor is as follows:

Ecuador

Country Code: 593

European Union (1996 proposal)

Proposed Country Code: 3

In 1996, the European Commission proposed the introduction of a single telephone numbering plan, in which all European Union member states would use the code '3'. Calls between member states would no longer require the use of the international access code '00'. This proposal would have required countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark and others, whose country codes began with the digit '4', to return these to the International Telecommunication Union. For example, to call a number in Berlin, in Germany:

Countries like Ireland, Portugal and Finland, which used codes in the '35x' range, would adopt a different format. For example, to call a number in Dublin, Ireland:

A Green Paper on the proposal was published, but it was felt by many in the industry that the disruption and inconvenience of such a scheme would outweigh any advantages.

The EU proposal should not be confused with the European Telephony Numbering Space (ETNS) scheme, which uses the code +388, and is intended to complement, rather than replace, existing national numbering plans.

Finland

Country Code: 358

Finland's numbering plan was reorganised in 1996, with the number of area codes being reduced, and the trunk code being changed from 9 to 0. This meant that the area code for Helsinki also changed:

The default international access code became 00, although other codes such as 999 are also still used.

France

Main article: French telephone numbering plan

Country Code: 33

In 1996, France changed to a ten-digit numbering scheme, as follows:

Germany

See also: Area codes in Germany

Country Code: 49

There are no standard lengths for either area codes or subscribers' numbers in Germany, meaning that some subscribers' numbers may be as short as three digits. Larger towns have shorter area codes permitting longer subscriber numbers in that area. Some examples:

The default length for newly assigned numbers (area code without 0 + subscriber number) is 10 or 11 digits, but older shorter numbers will not be replaced, but not reassigned if given back. The area codes are, if not counting the national trunk prefix '0', from 2 digits (only for Berlin +49 30, Hamburg +49 40, Frankfurt +49 69 and Munich +49 89) to 5 digits long (for smaller towns in the former East German states +49 3xxxx).

The former East German states were integrated into the Federal Republic's numbering system at 03xxx because Berlin's 030 was the only 03 area code before. They used range is from 0331 (Potsdam) to 039999 (small village Tutow in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). Due to limited number range also 5-digit area codes are used there, whereas in the old Federal Republic only 4-digit area codes (without the leading 0) are used.

Callers from the U.S. & Canada need to dial 01149 for Germany and the area code without the "0" prefix and then the local number, like 01149-69-123456789 (example).

Emergency numbers in Germany are 110 for police and 112 for fire and ambulance. In some states, the non-prioritised number 19222 is used for ambulance services, though this is heavily lobbied against and expected to be phased out in the future.

Greece

Country Code: 30

During 2001-2002, Greece moved to a closed ten-digit numbering scheme in two stages, with the result that subscribers' numbers changed twice. For example, before the change, a number in Athens would have been dialed as follows:

In 2001, a '0' was added after the area code, which was incorporated into the subscriber's number:

Finally, in 2002, the leading '0' was changed to a '2' (for geographic numbers) :

Mobile phone numbers were similarly prefixed with the digit '6'.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Country Code: 852

Main article: Hong Kong telephone numbering plan

Hungary

Country Code: 36

Standard lengths for area codes is one (Budapest only) to two digits and 8 or 9 (cell phone numbers beginning with 20, 30 and 70 and corporate nework numbers starting with 71) for subscribers' numbers in Hungary.

Iceland

Country Code: 354

India

Country Code: 91

Telephone numbering is a little different for Fixed and Mobile phones.

Fixed (landline) numbers

The factual accuracy of this section is disputed. Please view the article's talk page.

Fixed line telephones are operated by the government-owned incumbent operator , although some new fixed-wireless operators are in the picture since 2001.

Standard Trunk Dialling (STD) codes are assigned to each city/town/village, with the larger cities having shorter area codes (STD codes), the smallest being 2 digits. An STD Prefix of 0 is used to dial such a number. For example,

In addition, due to the availability of multiple operators offering fixed line services (either over wire or wireless), there is also an operator-code for each telephone number, namely:

Thus, a number formatted as 020-30303030 means a fixed-line Reliance number in Pune, while 011-20000198 is a BSNL fixed line in Delhi and 033-55269320 is a Tata Indicom number in Kolkata.

A full list of area codes in India is

Cell phone numbers

Telecom Regulator TRAI has divided the country into various cellular zones such that within each zone, the call is treated as a local call, while across zones, it becomes a long-distance call. A cellular zone (or cellular circle) is normally the entire state, with a few exceptions like Mumbai (which is a different zone), Goa (the state, which is a part of the Maharashtra zone) or Uttar Pradesh (which is so big it was divided into multiple zones)

From 20th May 2005 onwards calls between Mumbai Metro & Maharashtra Telecom Circle, Chennai Metro & Tamilnadu Telecom Circle, Kolkata Metro & West Bengal Telecom Circle and UP (East) & UP (West) Telecom Circle Service Areas are merged in Inter service area connectivity. With the above arrangement, calls within a State in the above-mentioned four States would be treated as intra-service area call for the purposes of routing as well as Access Deficit Charges (ADC). The dialling procedure for calls within a State for these States would also be simplified i.e. dialling of mobile-to mobile subscribers and fixed-to-mobile subscribers would be without prefixing ‘0’. Ref :

All mobile numbers in India have the prefix 9 (This includes pager services, but the use of pagers is on the decline). Each zone is allowed to have multiple private operators (earlier it was 2 private + BSNL, subsequently it was changed to 3 private + BSNL in GSM 900/1800, now it also includes 2 private + BSNL in CDMA). All cellphone numbers are 10 digits long, (normally) split up as OO-AA-NNNNNN where OO is the operator code, AA is the zone code assigned to the operator, and NNNNNN is the subscriber number.

The numbering plan is as follows:

For a full list of cellphone numbering plans in India, refer to India Cellphone Numbering

International dialling

The international access code in India is 00. For example, to call 08-790-1000 in Sweden from India, a subscriber would dial:

For calls to India from abroad, the appropriate international access code should be dialled, followed by 91 followed by the area code (without the 0) followed by the phone number. For example, to call 011-23456789 in India, from Europe, a subscriber would dial:

Ireland

Main article: Irish telephone numbering plan

Country Code: 353

Telephone numbers in Ireland are similar in format to those in the United Kingdom, with only the subscriber's number being required for local dialing.The trunk prefix is '0' followed by an area code, the first digit indicating the geographical area.

Area codes have varied in length, between one and three digits, and subscribers' numbers between five and seven digits but there is now a migration to a standard format, as follows:

Dublin numbers are currently seven digits, but may change to eight digits in the future, although breaking the city into separate area codes would match the rest of the national system.

The 08 numbering range was originally used for calls to Northern Ireland, but following the UK's renumbering of Northern Ireland in 2000, this changed, so to call a number in Belfast from the Republic:

The 03 numbering range was originally used for calls to Britain, but this was discontinued in 1992, when the international access code changed from 16 to 00. For a short period in the early 1990's 0300 was used for premium ratte services (see below)

The prefixes 151x, 1530, 1540, 1550 (Initially 0300), 1559, 1560, 1570 and 1580 are for premium rate Services which are more expensive than other telephone calls. These numbers provide a range of services from weather forecasting to adult dating. an independent body monitors the premium rate services industry.

Mobile phones use the prefixes 083, 085, 086 and 087. 088 was previously issued to the Eircell analogue service. While mobile numbers are portable between operators, all new numbers are issued in an operators own allocation - 083 for 3, 085 for Meteor Mobile Communications, 086 for O2 and 087 for Vodafone. Due to number portability, the full number must be dialled even if it has the same prefix as the caller's number.

Freephone services use the prefix 1800, while shared cost (Lo-Call) numbers use the prefix 1850. 1890 and 0818 are issued to non-geographic services, which charge local call rates. One disadvantage of this arrangement is that Irish freephone numbers are inaccessible from outside the Republic (unlike for example UK freefone numbers which can be accessed by dialling 0044800).

Dial-up Internet providers are entitled, but not required, to use numbers in the 189x range. 1891 numbers cost slightly below local call rate, and are often provided for entry-level dialup packages. 1892 numbers are used for full local rate dialup, and 1893 for FRIACO dialup.

A new area was introduced in 2005, using the 076 access code. This is allocated to VOIP providers, and is treated as either a national or local call by individual telecoms operators.

The 13xx code is used for accessing third party long distance/International service providers and some internet services

Israel

Country Code: 972

Italy

Country Code: 39

Italy changed to a closed numbering plan in 1998,

Calls to mobile phone numbers within Italy were also affected, deleting the previously used trunk code '0'. International calls to Italian mobile phone numbers were not affected. E.g. for Omnitel-Vodafone provider in Italy:

Until 1996, San Marino was part of the Italian numbering plan, using the Italian area code 0549 but in that year it adopted its own international code 378. However, instead of using international dialing codes, dialling arrangements between San Marino and Italy continued as before. In 1998, San Marino incorporated the 0549 area code into its subscribers' numbers, following the Italian format:

Mobile phone number in Italy: without a zero, started with a 3.

Japan

Country Code: 81

Main article: Japanese telephone numbering plan

Liechtenstein

Country Code: 423

Until 1999, Liechtenstein formed part of the Swiss numbering plan, using the country code 41 and the area code 075, but in that year it adopted its own international code 423, meaning that calls to and from Switzerland require international dialing.

Macau

Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (RAEM)

Country Code: 853

Main Article: Macau telephone numbering plan

Malaysia

Country Code: 60 (Note: when dialing with area code, "0" is suppressed, e.g. 603-XXXXXXXX.)

In 1999 Malaysia introduced eight-digit subscriber numbers in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Selangor. The introduction of the new numbering plan was completed in 2001.

For more informations on the spectrum assignment & numbering plan, please refer to .

Mexico

Country Code: 52

In 1999 Mexico introduced the following new prefixes long distance calls for long distance and international calls:

This did not affect calls from outside Mexico, which continued to be dialed in the same format.For example, to call a number in Mexico City:

are 3 digits long, except for Mexico City (55), Monterrey (81), Guadalajara (33) and their respective outlying areas.

Likewise, local numbers are 7 digits long, while Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara use 8 digit numbers. 8 digit numbers are commonly written two ways:

When dialed within its local area, calling-party-pays mobile phone numbers have a designated prefix: 044 - mobile phone (044 + area code + number)For example, when calling within area code 33, a Guadalajara mobile phone would be dialed as: 044 33 xxxx xxxxThis prefix is dropped when the number is dialed from another city in Mexico and the domestic prefix 01 is used since calling-party-pays calls can only be made when the mobile suscriber is being called from the same local area. Outside the country, mobiles are dialed in the same way as regular lines: +52 33 xxxx xxxx

It is common to see businesses with multiple lines on the same telephone exchange list their alternate lines without repeating the common numbers. For example, "(55) xxxx xx10, 19, 22 y 24" would signify a series of lines in Mexico City:

Moldova

Country Code: 373

In 2003 Moldova introduced new open type telephone numbering plan . It created controversy with Transnistria, which then adopted its own plan instead .

Netherlands

Main article: Telephone numbers in the NetherlandsSee also Communications in the Netherlands

Country Code: 31

In the Netherlands, the area codes are — excluding the leading '0' — one, two or three digits long, with larger towns and cities having shorter area codes permitting a larger number of telephone numbers in the ten digits used. Since renumbering in 1996, subscribers' numbers are now either six digits long, or in the larger towns and cities, seven digits.

066, 084 and 087 are often used by scammers, because they are easy and cheap to register and make identification very hard.

Previously, 06-0 and 06-1000 and 06-4 were used for toll-free numbers, and other 06 for mobile and premium rate, while 09 was used as the international access code, before this changed to 00. The emergency number used to be 06-11.

New Zealand

Country Code: 64

Since 1993, land-line telephone numbers in New Zealand consist of a single-digit area code and seven-digit local numbers, the first three of which generally specify the exchange and the final four a line at that exchange. The long distance prefix is '0'.

There are five regional area codes, which must be used when calling outside the local dialing area, for example from Christchurch to Dunedin in the South Island, the '03' prefix must be dialed first. In many parts of the country, the old area code was incorporated into the new number, hence Nelson (055) xx xxx became (03) 55x xxxx .

Mobile phone numbers are prefixed with 02, followed by one digit and the subscriber's number, which is either six, seven or eight digits, dialled in full, e.g. 025 xxx xxx or 027 xxx xxxx.

Free call services generally use the prefix 0800 (although some use 0508) while local rate (usually internet access numbers) have the prefix 08xx. Premium rate services use the code 0900 followed by five digits.

The main international prefix is '00' (there are others for special purposes, such as 0161, for discounted rates). The emergency services number is '111'.

Norway

Country Code: 47

Since 1992, land-line and mobile telephone numbers in Norway consist of eight digits, without any area codes. The numbers are apportioned in chunks, which vary in size between a thousand and over a million, among counties and telephone companies.

Peru

Country Code: 51

Most area codes in Peru changed on 1 March 2003, providing an area code for each region (national subdivision).

Also on that date, '9' was prepended to existing cellular/mobile numbers. Mobile subscriber numbers are now 8 digits in Lima (+51 1 9xxxxxxx) and 7 digits elsewhere (+51 xx 9xxxxxx).

Philippines

Country Code: 63

Main article: Philippine Telephone Area Codes

Poland

Country Code: 48

Polish phone numbers since 5th December 2005 : 10 digits, starting with a 0.

Polish mobile number: 10 digits, starting with 05, 06 and 08.

(Mobile Virtual Network Operators)

Reserved for UMTS but not yet assigned:

Premium Rate services:

Shared cost numbers:

Free (for the caller in Poland):

"UTR VSAT, Tekstofon, Fixed SMS"

Portugal

Country Code: 351

Portugal changed to a closed numbering plan in 1999. Previously, the trunk prefix was '0', but this was dropped, and the area code, prefixed by the digit '2' was incorporated into the subscriber's number, so that a nine-digit number was used for all calls, eg:

Mobiles similarly changed, with the digits '96' replacing the prefix '0936':

Other new number ranges include:

Romania

Country Code: 40

Main article: Romania Telephone Area Codes

In the last years, landline usage started to drop as the mobile phones market was growing fast. Mobile phone companies were running out of numbers, as both the main mobile companies claimed millions after million of subscribers. Also, due to approaching EU join, the state-owned company was going to loose the landline monopoly. A 2002 reform modified the system to an 10 digits system, of which the first is always a national access code 0:

• the landline Romtelecom numbers start with a two or three digits area code: 21 for Bucharest (like 021-xxx-xxxx) and 2pp for the other counties (like 0233-xxx-xxxx for Neamţ County)
• the new landline companies were granted new area codes starting with 3, e.g. an Astral Telecom landline number will be 03pp-xxx-xxx, using the same two digits (or 1 for Bucharest, as 031-xxx-xxxx) for counties prefix as Romtelecom
• the mobile companies use area codes starting with 7: 72 for Connex-Vodafone (previously branded as Connex), 74 for Orange Romania (previously branded as Dialog) etc.; a Connex-Vodaphone number will be 072p-xxx-xxx
• no-charge number area codes is 800 (like 0-800-xxx-xxx)
• extra-charge numbers are starting with 021-89-xxxxx, like a subset of the numbers owned by Romtelecom in Bucharest.

Calling from Romania to Romania usually implies using the full 10 digits number, while Romtelecom subscribers can call inside their area code dropping the leading 0 and the area code (a number becomes just xxx-xxxx in Bucharest and xxx-xxx for the rest of the country). Romtelecom county codes were chosen on a geographical order, starting with northern Moldavia (Suceava County had 30), then going southwards to eastern Wallachia, than westwards to southern Transylvania, than northwards, closing the circle, until the biggest prefix, 69 (used for Sibiu County).

Extra-charge SMS are sent to three or four digits numbers, each company having its own system.

Short numbers became are allowed in both the 3 digits and in 4 digits forms, both with a leading 9, like 981 for the ambulance or 9xxx for various cab companies. Each town or county has it own special services, like firefighters, police, with the same number. The station to which these calls are directed is chosen based on location.

Romania joined the European initiative for a continent wide emergency number, 211.

When calling from abroad the leading zero is dropped and replaced with the international access code and the country code, like +40-xxx-xxx-xxx. As usual, only regular landline and mobile phones are accessible from outside Romania.

When calling from Romania abroad, the international access code is 00. Also supported is + for the mobile devices.

Russia and Kazakhstan

Country Code: 7

Under the Russian numbering plan, the trunk code is '8', with subscriber numbers being a total of ten digits long, for example:

A scheme of 8 + 2 + city code + number can be used to dial within a Region. For example, the code for Saratov Region is 845, the city code for Saratov is 2, and the city code for Engels is 11:

A short list of examples, set out in the officially approved number groups (it's important to notice that the last four digits of the number are separated into two equal groups, and the area code is written without the dialling prefix 8 and in parentheses):

Freephone numbers:

Historically, '7' has been used as the Soviet Union country code. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, all former republics except Russia and Kazakhstan switched to new country codes.

The international access code is 8~10 - callers dial '8', wait for a tone, and then dial '10', followed by the number.

Due to the use of 8 as both the dialling prefix and the first digit of some area codes, sometimes it may be confusing for foreigners to understand the dialling pattern. Moreover, it is not uncommon to see the non-existent area code of 95 in foreign print, instead of the correct 095, due to the fact that 0 is a local dialling prefix across Europe but not yet in Russia (there is already a plan to implement it in Russia, too).

On 1 December 2005, dialling code 095 et al was replaced with 495 et al, so that at a later date it will be possible to adopt the ITU convention of 0 and 00 dialling prefixes for local and international dialling respectively. The old 095 dialling code is to be effective until 31 January 2006. In Russian: .

For a historical overview of the telephone numbering plans in connection with the Soviet Union and now Russia, see ‘’.

Singapore

Country Code: 65

See Singapore telephone numbering plan

South Africa

Country Code: 27

Main article: South African Telephone Numbering Plan

South Africa has switched to a closed system, although as of 2005 it is still not mandatory to prefix the 3-digit area code for local numbers. The trunk prefix is still '0', with the system generally organised geographically. The numbers were initially allocated when South Africa had four provinces, meaning that ranges are now split across the current nine provinces:

All telephone numbers are 10 digits long (including the 3 for area code), except for certain Telkom special services.

Spain

Country Code: 34

Spain changed to a closed numbering plan in 1998. Previously, the trunk prefix was '9', but this was incorporated into the subscriber's number, so that a nine-digit number was used for all calls, eg:

Mobiles similarly changed, prefixed with the digit '6':

New numbering ranges have also since been introduced:

Spain's international access code also changed from 07 to 00, but this did not affect dialing arrangements for calls to Gibraltar, in which the provincial code 9567 is used instead of the international code 350, eg:

Sweden

Country Code: 46

In Sweden, the area codes are — excluding the leading '0' — one, two or three digits long, with larger towns and cities having shorter area codes permitting a larger number of telephone numbers in the eight to ten digits used. Before the 1990s, ten-digit numbers were very rare, but they have become increasingly common because of the deregulation of telecommunications, the new 112 emergency number, which required change of all numbers starting with 11, and the creation of a single area code for the Greater Stockholm area. No subscriber number is shorter than five digits.

Sweden adopted 00 as its international access code in 1999, replacing 009 and 007.

According to the postal and telecommunication services supervising authority Post- och Telestyrelsen, it seems possible that Sweden will adopt a closed numbering plan in the future.

Switzerland

Country Code: 41

In 2002, Switzerland adopted a closed numbering plan, but retained the use of the trunk code 0. The original plan was to dispense with the trunk code completely, so that all calls within Switzerland would only require a nine-digit number. However, this was modified on grounds of cost. The 01 prefix for numbers in Zurich is being phased out in favor of 044, with 043 being used for overlay numbers.

Until 1999, Liechtenstein formed part of the Swiss numbering plan, using the area code 075, but in that year it adopted its own international code 423, meaning that calls to and from Switzerland require international dialing.

The 076 to 079 number range is now used for mobile phone services.

Ukraine

Country Code: 380

Ukraine (similarly to most of ex-Soviet Union countries) employs a four-level (local, zone, country, international) open dialing plan. For all non-local numbers, the required trunk prefix is '8' followed by an auxiliary dial tone after it (optional on digital exchanges), with the following '2' for in-zone calls, '0' for in-country calls to geographical and cell phone zones, none to toll-free, premium-rate and other special zones (e.g. 800, 900, 703, 711), and '10' for international calls.

The in-country sequence for ordinary zones consists of a 2 digit zone code, an optional subzone code (never used for the capital of the geographic region corresponding to a phone zone), an optional filler (0 to 2 "2"s, used to make the whole in-country sequence contain exactly 9 digits) and the local phone number (5 to 7 digits). Mainly for historical reasons, zone codes are very often named with a leading '0', e.g. 044 instead of 44. When dialing from cell phones, the in-country dial sequence (with 80 prefix) is used even for phones of the same provider. Otherwise a call may be placed in the nearest geographic area.

Geographical zones correspond to geographic regions ("oblasti") with exception of Sebastopol which utilizes its own phone zone.

Cell phone numbers can be assigned both within the cell phone provider zone and within a geographic zone. The latter arrangement is used mainly for CDMA phones and for GSM operators selling their connectivity within one city, like GoldenTelecom GSM. Allocation of new GSM cell phone numbers within a geographic zone is very rare now because law requires all incoming calls to be free, including incoming calls to a cell phone.

Some examples of dialed sequences:

(In the table, tilde sign ('~') means waiting for secondary dial tone.)

Some mobile operators may support additional dialing plans. For example, Kyivstar also supports the following:

Note that law explicitly prohibits trunk calls to a PSTN phone within the same local area in a geographic phone zone (e.g. from Kiev to Kiev), so one cannot dial 8~2 or 8~0xx for this, unless the phone exchange is misconfigured or a special circumstance occurs.

United Kingdom

Country Code: 44

Main article: UK Telephone Numbering Plan

Since April 28, 2001, all normal geographic numbers and most non-geographic numbers are 10 digit (excluding the 0 prefix but including the rest of the area code) the overall structure of the UK's National Numbering Plan is:

A short list of examples, set out in the officially approved (Ofcom) number groups:

In the United Kingdom, area codes are — excluding the leading '0' which is dropped when calling UK numbers from overseas — two, three, four or five digits long, with larger towns and cities having shorter area codes permitting a larger number of telephone numbers in the ten or eleven digits used. Area codes are called "STD" (subscriber trunk dialling) codes.

It is very common to see the + notation being misused — +44 (0)xxx xxx xxxx is not an uncommon occurrence even in official documents. For international callers the number between the brackets is dropped. For callers within the United Kingdom the +44 is dropped and the number between the brackets used.

United States, Canada and West Indies

Main article: North American Numbering Plan

See also: List of North American area codes

In the United States (including its territories) Canada, Bermuda, and most islands in the Caribbean, area codes are regulated by the North American Numbering Plan. Currently, all area codes (officially called numbering plan areas) in the NANP must have 3 digits. Despite being one numbering plan the cost of calling numbers in the NANP (both from inside and from outside) can vary wildly depending on which country of the NANP the code is in so great care is needed on the part of a caller to avoid unexpectedly large bills.

Not all area codes correspond to a geographical area. Codes 8xx (excluding 811 and 899) with the last two digits matching, such as 800, 888, 877, 866, etc., are reserved for toll-free calls. Code 900 is reserved for premium-rate calls (also known as dial-it services, although such services also exist in some places on a local basis using a particular three-digit prefix following the area code, often "976"). Area code 710 has been reserved for the United States Government, although no lines other than the single telephone number 710-627-4387 ("NCS-GETS") had actually been connected on this code as of 2004.

None of these changes enable the existence of variable length area codes, which are commonplace outside North America. Also see .

Mobile phones are allocated numbers within regular geographic area codes corresponding to or close to the subscriber's home or work location, instead of within a distinctive subset of area codes (e.g. 07xxx in the UK) and all the extra costs of mobile telephony must be borne by the mobiles owner (unlike in many countries where calling mobiles costs significantly more than calling landlines). Local number portability (LNP) applies across landline and mobile services. A customer can port a landline number to mobile service and vice-versa.

Dialing plans

Dialing plans vary from place to place depending on whether an area has overlays (multiple area codes serving the same area) and whether the state requires toll alerting (a leading 1+ for toll calls.) The includes dialing plan information in their .In areas without overlays and without toll alerting, including California and much of Illinois, New York, and New Jersey, calls within an area code are dialed as seven digits (7D) and calls outside the area code as 1 followed by 10 digits (1+10D). Most areas allow permissive dialing of 1+10D even for calls that could be dialed as 7D. The number of digits dialed is unrelated to whether a call is local or toll.In areas without overlays and with toll alerting, including most rural states, local calls within the same area code are dialed as 7D, toll calls are dialed as 1+10D. In some places, local calls to other area codes are 1+10D, in others they can be dialed as 10D without the leading 1.In areas with overlays, local calls are all dialed as 10D. (In New York City, the preferred form is 1+10D but 10D also works.) In areas without toll alerting, all calls to numbers within the caller's area code and overlay codes serving the same area can be dialed as either 10D or 1+10D, while calls to other area codes must be 1+10D. In areas with toll alerting, all toll calls must be dialed as 1+10D. Most areas permit local calls to be dialed as 1+10D except for Texas which requires that callers know which numbers are local and which are toll, dialing 10D for all local calls and 1+10D for all toll calls. The current profusion of dialing plans is quite confusing, and it appears likely that all areas will converge on 1+10D even in places where other forms are permitted.

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