Telephone numbers in Europe explained

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

CountryCountry codeNational number lengthDialing plan *International access codeNational trunk prefix
434 to 13variable000
Belgium328 to 10fixed with 0000
Bulgaria3597 to 9variable000
Croatia3858 or 9 (some mobile)variable000
Cyprus3578fixed00
Czech Republic4209fixed00
Denmark458fixed00
Estonia3727 (fixed or mobile), 8 (mobile)fixed00
Finland3585 to 12variable000
France339fixed with 0000
Germany493 to 12variable000
Greece304 to 5 (company numbers) 10 (fixed and mobile) fixed00
Hungary368 (landline) or 9 (mobile)variable0006
Iceland3547 (mobile and landline) or 9 (for 3xxxxxxxx)fixed00
Ireland3537 to 9; 10 (mobile voicemail and Northern Ireland)variable000
Italy396 to 12 (generally 10)fixed00
Latvia3718fixed00
Liechtenstein423up to 12 (generally is 7)fixed00
Lithuania3708variable000
Luxembourg3528 (fixed new numbering plan); 9 (mobile); 12 (mobile telematic); 4-11 (historic numbers still active) [1] fixed00
Malta3568fixed00
Netherlands319variable000
Norway474-12 (generally 8)fixed00
Poland489fixed00
Portugal3519fixed00
Romania409fixed with 0000
Slovakia4219variable000
Slovenia3868variable000
Spain349 (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)fixed00
Sweden466 to 9000
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

CountryCountry codeNational number lengthDialing planInternational access codeTrunk prefixNational trunk prefix
Abkhazia7 840 (landline) / 7 940 (mobile)7variable8~108
Albania3558 (fixed), 9 (mobile)variable000
Andorra3766 or 9 (in special cases)fixed00
Armenia3748variable000
Belarus3759variable000
Bosnia and Herzegovina3878 to 9variable000
Faroe Islands2986fixed00
Georgia9959variable000
Gibraltar3508fixed00
Kosovo3838variable000
North Macedonia3898variable000
Moldova3738fixed with 0[2] 000
Monaco3778 to 9fixed (?)00
Montenegro3828fixed000
Russia7 (shared with Kazakhstan)10variable8~108
San Marino3786 to 12fixed00
Serbia3818 to 10variable000
South Ossetia7 850 (fixed), 7 929 (mobile)5 to 7variable8~108
Switzerland419fixed with 0000
Transnistria373 5 / 373 2 (Moldova codes used)7variable000
Turkey9010fixed000
Northern Cyprus90 392 (fixed), 90 533 / 90 542 (mobile)7fixed000
United Kingdom449 or 10 digits (geographic); 7, 9 or 10 (non-geographic)variable000
Ukraine3809variable000
Vatican City379 (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

The following service numbers are harmonized across the European Union:

Single numbering plan (1996 proposal)

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

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: E.164 Number Ranges in use in Luxembourg. October 2017. Institut Luxembourgeois de Régulation.
  2. Web site: Moldova Switches over to "Closed" Type Numbering Plan for Fixed Telephone Subscribers | ANRCETI.
  3. Web site: 112 – The European emergency number. European Commission – Information Society. 31 January 2011.
  4. Web site: SOS 112 Europe. 31 January 2011.