Summary
Telephone numbers in Europe are managed by the national telecommunications authorities of each country. Most country codes start with 3 and 4, but some countries that by the Copenhagen criteria are considered part of Europe have country codes starting on numbers most common outside of Europe (e.g. Faroe Islands of Denmark have a code starting on number 2, which is most common in Africa).
The international access code (dial out code) has been standardized as 00, as recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
European Economic Area edit
| Country | Country code | National number length | Dialing plan * | International access code | National trunk prefix | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austria
|
43 | 4 to 13 | variable | 00 | 0 | ||
 Belgium
|
32 | 8 to 10 | fixed with 0 | 00 | 0 | ||
 Bulgaria
|
359 | 7 to 9 | variable | 00 | 0 | ||
 Croatia
|
385 | 8 or 9 (some mobile) | variable | 00 | 0 | ||
 Cyprus
|
357 | 8 | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Czech Republic
|
420 | 9 | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Denmark
|
45 | 8 | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Estonia
|
372 | 7 (fixed or mobile), 8 (mobile) | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Finland
|
358 | 5 to 12 | variable | 00 | 0 | ||
 France
|
33 | 9 | fixed with 0 | 00 | 0 | ||
 Germany
|
49 | 3 to 12 | variable | 00 | 0 | ||
 Greece
|
30 | 4 to 5 (company numbers) 10 (fixed and mobile) | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Hungary
|
36 | 8 (landline) or 9 (mobile) | variable | 00 | 06 | ||
 Iceland
|
354 | 7 (mobile and landline) or 9 (for 3xxxxxxxx) | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Ireland
|
353 | 7 to 9; 10 (mobile voicemail and Northern Ireland) | variable | 00 | 0 | ||
 Italy
|
39 | 6 to 12 | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Latvia
|
371 | 8 | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Liechtenstein
|
423 | up to 12 (generally is 7) | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Lithuania
|
370 | 8 | variable | 00 | 0 | ||
 Luxembourg
|
352 | 8 (fixed new numbering plan); 9 (mobile); 12 (mobile telematic); 4-11 (historic numbers still active) [1] | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Malta
|
356 | 8 | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Netherlands
|
31 | 9 | variable | 00 | 0 | ||
 Norway
|
47 | 4-12 (generally 8) | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Poland
|
48 | 9 | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Portugal
|
351 | 9 | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Romania
|
40 | 9 | fixed with 0 | 00 | 0 | ||
 Slovakia
|
421 | 9 | variable | 00 | 0 | ||
 Slovenia
|
386 | 8 | variable | 00 | 0 | ||
 Spain
|
34 | 9 (3 for emergency services, 4 for phone companies, 5 and starting with 118 for telephonic information, 6 and starting with 116 for social interest and 5 or 6 with starting with other numbers that are not listed before for premium services) | fixed | 00 | – | ||
 Sweden
|
46 | 6 to 9 | 00 | 0 | |||
| All European Economic Area member states apply the European Union roaming regulations. The regulation eventually led to the abolition of all roaming charges for temporary roaming when traveling within the EEA as of June 15, 2017. The European Union international calls regulations regulate prices of calls (and text messages) when calling from your home country to another EEA country. | |||||||
Other European countries/territories edit
| Country | Country code | National number length | Dialing plan | International access code | National trunk prefix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Abkhazia †
|
7 840 (landline) / 7 940 (mobile) | 7 | variable | 8~10 | 8 |
 Albania
|
355 | 8 (fixed), 9 (mobile) | variable | 00 | 0 |
 Andorra
|
376 | 6 or 9 (in special cases) | fixed | 00 | – |
 Armenia
|
374 | 8 | variable | 00 | 0 |
 Belarus
|
375 | 9 | variable | 00 | 0 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
387 | 8 to 9 | variable | 00 | 0 |
 Faroe Islands
|
298 | 6 | fixed | 00 | – |
 Georgia
|
995 | 9 | variable | 00 | 0 |
 Gibraltar
|
350 | 8 | fixed | 00 | – |
 Kosovo †
|
383 | 8 | variable | 00 | 0 |
 North Macedonia
|
389 | 8 | variable | 00 | 0 |
 Moldova
|
373 | 8 | fixed with 0[2] | 00 | 0 |
 Monaco
|
377 | 8 to 9 | fixed (?) | 00 | – |
 Montenegro
|
382 | 8 | fixed | 00 | 0 |
 Russia
|
7 (shared with Kazakhstan) | 10 | variable | 8~10 | 8 |
 San Marino
|
378 | 6 to 12 | fixed | 00 | – |
 Serbia
|
381 | 8 to 10 | variable | 00 | 0 |
 South Ossetia †
|
7 850 (fixed), 7 929 (mobile) | 5 to 7 | variable | 8~10 | 8 |
 Switzerland
|
41 | 9 | fixed with 0 | 00 | 0 |
 Transnistria †
|
373 5 / 373 2 (Moldova codes used) | 7 | variable | 00 | 0 |
 Turkey
|
90 | 10 | fixed | 00 | 0 |
 Northern Cyprus †
|
90 392 (fixed), 90 533 / 90 542 (mobile) | 7 | fixed | 00 | 0 |
 United Kingdom
|
44 | 9 or 10 digits (geographic); 7, 9 or 10 (non-geographic) | variable | 00 | 0 |
 Ukraine[a]
|
380 | 9 | variable | 00 | 0 |
 Vatican City
|
379 (not activated) |
† = Disputed state, may not be recognized as an independent state by some or all European Union members.
*A variable dialing plan has different dialing procedures for local and long-distance telephone calls. A call within the same city or within an area is dialed only by the subscriber number, while for calls outside the area, the telephone number must be prefixed with the destination area code. A fixed dialing plan requires to dial all digits of the complete telephone number, including any area codes.
Harmonized service numbers edit
The following service numbers are harmonized across the European Union:
- 112 for emergency services[5][6]
- 116xxx for (other) harmonized services of social value
Single numbering plan (1996 proposal) edit
In 1996, the European Commission proposed the introduction of a single telephone numbering plan, in which all European Union member states would use the country code 3. Calls between member states would no longer require the international access code 00. Instead the digit 1 was proposed for these calls, replaced by the country code 3 for calls from outside the EU. Each country would have a two-digit country code after the 1 or the 3. Calls within each country would not be affected.
This proposal would have required states such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark and others, whose country codes began with the digit '4', to return these to the International Telecommunication Union.
A Green Paper on the proposal was published, but the disruption and inconvenience of the change was deemed to outweigh any advantages.
A disadvantage would have been that every local number beginning with "1" would have had to be changed (except emergency number which would be kept).
Another disadvantage would be that people wanting to call France (e.g. Southeast France using +33 4...) using an old number would connect another country like Spain, or people wanting to call Spain (e.g. +34 9...) would end up in e.g. Germany if they use an old number.
The EU proposal should not be confused with the European Telephony Numbering Space (ETNS), which uses the country code 388, and was intended to complement, rather than replace, existing national numbering plans.
See also edit
Notes edit
References edit
- ^ "E.164 Number Ranges in use in Luxembourg" (PDF). Institut Luxembourgeois de Régulation. October 2017.
- ^ "Moldova Switches over to "Closed" Type Numbering Plan for Fixed Telephone Subscribers | ANRCETI".
- ^ "Абонентам ДНР и ЛНР выделен телефонный код российской системы нумерации". Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian). 7 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ Petrenko, Roman (7 May 2022). "Russia switches mobile operators of certain areas of occupied territories to its +7 telephone code". Ukrayinska Pravda. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "112 – The European emergency number". European Commission – Information Society. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ "SOS 112 Europe". Retrieved 31 January 2011.
External links edit
- World Telephone Numbering Guide