South Africa switched to a closed numbering system effective 16 January 2007. At that time, it became mandatory to dial the full 10-digit telephone number, including the zero in the three-digit

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

, for local calls (e.g., 011 must be dialed from within Johannesburg).

Area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

s within the system are generally organized geographically. All telephone numbers are 9 digits long (but always prefixed by 0 for calls within South Africa), except for certain Telkom special services. When dialed from another country, the "0" is omitted and replaced with the appropriate

international access code The following is a list of different International call prefix, international call prefixes that need to be dialled when placing an international call, international telephone call from different countries. Countries by international prefix C ...

and the country code +27.

Background

History

Numbers were allocated when South Africa had only four provinces, meaning that ranges are now split across the current nine provinces.

South-West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

(including Walvis Bay) was integrated into the South African numbering plan. However, the territory had already been allocated its own country code by the International Telecommunication Union, +264, in the late 1960s.

Namibia

Following its independence, Namibia discontinued direct dialing from South Africa, and replaced it with international dialing using the

+264 Namibia's telephone numbering plan was originally devised when the country, then known as South West Africa, was under South African administration, and integrated into the South African telephone numbering plan. Area codes beginning with 06 we ...

country code. For example, for a call from South Africa to Windhoek, before and after 1992: : Before 1992: 061 xxx xxxx : After 1992: 09 26461 xxx xxxx : After Jan 2007: 00 26461 xxx xxxx

Lesotho

Calls to

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

could be made using the access code 050 instead of the international code +266; for example, to call Maseru from South Africa, subscribers would dial 0501.

Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe

Calls to Botswana,

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

and Zimbabwe could similarly be made using the

regional code A regional lockout (or region coding) is a class of digital rights management preventing the use of a certain product or service, such as multimedia or a hardware device, outside a certain region or territory. A regional lockout may be enforced ...

s 0192, 0194 and 0191, respectively, instead of the international codes

+267 Fixed line numbers in Botswana are seven digits long in a closed telephone numbering plan, with the geographical area being indicated by the first two or three digits, meaning that there are no area codes. The country was allocated its own count ...

+268 Eswatini, then known as Swaziland, was allocated the country code +268 by the International Telecommunication Union, in the late 1960s. To call a telephone number in Eswatini, the following format is used: ;yy xx xxxx:calls from within Eswatini ; ...

and

+263 The following are the telephone codes in Zimbabwe. Local Calls In the same town/city For calls inside the same geographic numbering area (local calls), dial the Subscriber Number only (this includes the Prefixing Number). To another town/ ...

Number ranges

00

International access code The following is a list of different International call prefix, international call prefixes that need to be dialled when placing an international call, international telephone call from different countries. Countries by international prefix C ...

effective from 16 October 2006 and mandatory from 16 January 2007.

01

The old Transvaal province, currently comprising Gauteng,

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

, Limpopo and part of the North West: : ''010'': New overlay plan for Johannesburg : ''011'': Witwatersrand region

around Around may refer to: * Around (song), "Around" (song), by Julia van Bergen * ''Around'', 2006 album by Tom Verlaine * ''Around'', 2013 EP by Whirr (band), Whirr * ''Around'', 2006 List of Palestinian films, Palestinian film See also

* Round ( ...

Johannesburg, currently code for the entirety of Greater Johannesburg : ''012'': Pretoria and surrounding towns (also includes Brits) : ''013'': Eastern Gauteng ( Bronkhorstspruit) and Western and northern Mpumalanga: Middelburg, Witbank and

Nelspruit Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga), Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, ea ...

: ''014'': Northern North West and Southwestern Limpopo: Rustenburg and Modimolle : ''015'': Northern and Eastern Limpopo: Polokwane : ''016'': Vaal Triangle: Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and

Sasolburg Sasolburg is a large industrial city within the Metsimaholo Local Municipality in the far north of the Free State province of South Africa. Sasolburg is further sub-divided into three areas: Sasolburg proper, Vaalpark (a more affluent cluster o ...

, which constitutes an anomaly, since Sasolburg isn't the old

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

. : ''017'': Southern Mpumalanga: Ermelo : ''018'': Southern North West: Mahikeng, Lichtenburg,

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...

and Klerksdorp

02

Western and

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

: : ''021'': Cape Town metropole and surrounds, including Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Gordon's Bay : ''022'': Boland and West Coast: Malmesbury : ''023'': Worcester and greater

Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...

, including Beaufort West : ''027'': Namaqualand (Northern Cape): Vredendal,

Calvinia Calvinia is a regional town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa named after the French people, French religious reformer Jean Calvin. The town falls under the Hantam Local Municipality which forms part of the Namakwa District Municipalit ...

, Clanwilliam, Springbok, Alexander Bay,

Port Nolloth Port Nolloth is a town and small domestic seaport in the Namaqualand region on the northwestern coast of South Africa, northwest of Springbok, Northern Cape, Springbok. It is the seat of the Richtersveld Local Municipality. The port was previousl ...

: ''028'': Southern region: Swellendam and Caledon / Hermanus region.

03

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

: : ''031'': Durban : ''032'': KZN North coast region: Verulam, Tongaat, Ballito and

Stanger KwaDukuza is a municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2006, the municipal name was changed to KwaDukuza (which incorporates small towns such as Stanger, Balito, Shaka's Kraal, but the Zulu people in the area called it "Dukuza" well before ...

: ''033'':

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

and KwaZulu-Natal Midlands : ''034'': Vryheid, Newcastle and Northern KZN : ''035'': Zululand region:

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

, Richards Bay, Ulundi : ''036'': Drakensberg region:

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queensl ...

: ''039'':

KwaZulu-Natal South Coast KwaZulu-Natal South Coast (better known as the KZN South Coast or just the South Coast) is a region on the southern coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It stretches from Scottburgh in the north to Port Edward in the south and Harding in the ...

region:

Port Shepstone Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate and is positioned 120 km south of Durban. ...

and interior, and Eastern Pondoland (in Eastern Cape)

04

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

and eastern parts of the Western Cape: : ''040'':

Bhisho Bhisho (formerly Bisho) is the capital of the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. The Office of the Premier, Provincial Legislature and many other government departments are headquartered in the town. The town, three kilometres from Qonce and ...

: ''041'':

Gqeberha Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, So ...

and Uitenhage : ''042'': Southern region: Humansdorp : ''043'':

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

and surrounds : ''044'': Garden Route, including Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Mossel Bay and George : ''045'': Central region: Queenstown : ''046'': Southern region: Grahamstown, Bathurst,

Port Alfred A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

, Kenton-on-Sea : ''047'': Mthatha / most of previous Transkei : ''048'': Northern region:

Steynsburg Steynsburg is a small town in the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Steynsburg is located on the intersection of the R56 and R390. The town lies south-west of Burg ...

: ''049'': Western region: Graaff-Reinet

05

Free State and Northern Cape : ''051'': Central and southern region: Bloemfontein, and Aliwal North in E Cape : ''053'':

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

, eastern part of Northern Cape, far west of NW province : ''054'': Upington, Gordonia region : ''056'': Northern Free State: Kroonstad : ''057'': Northern Free State: Welkom (Goldfields region) : ''058'': Eastern Free State: Bethlehem

06 (Cellular)

Cellular : ''0603 - 0605'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0606 - 0609'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''0610 - 0613'': Cellular: Used by

Cell C Cell C Limited (stylised as Cell ©) is as a private mobile operator based in Sandstone, South Africa. It was founded in November 2001 by Lambert Moloi. As of August 2019, the Company’s current CEO is Douglas Craigie Stevenson Douglas may re ...

: ''0614'': Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta) : ''0615 - 0619'': Cellular: Used by

: ''062'': Cellular: Used by

: ''0630 - 0635'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0636 - 0637'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''0640'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0641 - 0645'': Cellular: Used by

: ''0646 - 0649'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''0650 - 0653'': Cellular: Used by

: ''0654:'' Cellular: Used b
Lycamobile SA
(Cell C entered into an MVNO deal with Lycamobile in August 2017) : ''0655 - 0657'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0658 - 0659'': Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta) : ''0660 - 0665'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''0670 - 0672'': Cellular: Used by TelkomSA : ''0673 - 0675'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''0676 - 0679'': Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta) : ''0680 - 0685'': Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta) : ''0690'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0691 - 0695'': Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)

07 (Cellular)

:''0710'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0711 - 0716'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''0717 - 0719'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''072'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''073'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''074'': Cellular: Used by

(Cell C has allocated 0741 to Virgin Mobile) : ''0741'': Cellular: Used by: Virgin Mobile as of June 2006 : ''076'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''078'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''079'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom

08

Cellular

: ''0810'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0811 - 0815'': Used by TelkomSA (8.ta) : ''0816'': WBS Mobile (Vodacom and MTN both have terminated SMS interconnect with WBS so SMS messages to/from this number range are not relayed) : ''0817'': Used by TelkomSA (8.ta) : ''0818'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''082'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''083'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''083-9'': Cellular rates to Telkom lines, reroutes call to a telkom line and pays number owner for received calls : ''084'': Cellular: Used by

Special Services

: ''080'': ''FreeCall'', Toll-free, called party pays : ''083-9'': Cellular rates to Telkom lines, reroutes call to a telkom line and pays number owner for received calls : ''085'': Cellular: USAL license holders - Vodacom and MTN have some prefixes out of this range for their USAL offerings : ''086'': ''Sharecall'', ''MaxiCall'' and premium-rate services, calls can be routed to regional offices automatically : ''0860'': ''Sharecall'' Land line callers pay local call, called party pays long distance if applicable : ''0861'': ''MaxiCall'' caller always pay long distance for call even if routed to local office : ''0862 - 9'': Premium rate caller pays increasing rate linked to last digit : ''0862, 0865, 0866, 08673, 08774, 08676'': ''Fax to Email'' caller always pay increasing rate linked to last digits : ''08622, 086294'': ''Competition lines'' caller always pay premium rate : ''08671 - 08674'': ''Information services'' caller always pay increasing rate linked to last digit : ''087'': Value-added services ( VoIPbr>
among others) : ''088'': Pagers and Telkom CallAnswer voicemail : ''089'': Maxinet, for polls and radio call-in services ''Note that from 10 November 2006, mobile number portability was introduced in the cellular market. The cellular prefixes as above are therefore not strictly applicable anymore, although they remain mostly unchanged.''

09 (Premium-rate and machine-related numbers)

: ''090'': Premium-rate services : ''0902'': Premium-rated adult services : ''091'': Premium-rate services : ''092'': Premium-rate services : ''096'': Machine-related services (14-digit numbers) : ''097'': Machine-related services (14-digit numbers) : ''098'': Machine-related services (14-digit numbers) There are still some non-automated exchanges which use longer dialing codes, mostly for "farm lines" and remote areas with operator-assisted exchanges.

External links

Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)
- South Africa’s communication regulator
How to call South Africa
- howtophoneto.com

References

{{Africa topic, Telephone numbers in South Africa Telecommunications in South Africa Telephone numbers