Summary
International phone numbers were devised by Alexander Graham Bell himself, the inventor of the telephone. The idea was to simplify the work of telephone switchboards at the time, where operators manually connected calls. With these prefixes, calls could be easily routed to their correct destination. Even with the advent of business phone systems like Ringover, the phone number system remains straightforward. Whether connecting with an international phone number by landline or through cloud-based VoIP software, you'll be using the same international phone number format.
Get an International Phone Number TodayWhat is the format of an international phone number?
The first part of an international phone number is the country code, sometimes called an international country code. The country code usually has 1-3 digits and is always preceded by either a + or 00. The US country code is +1 or 00 1, while the UK's is +44 or 00 44. Once you've entered the country code, you can dial your contact's phone number as usual.
One of the benefits of VoIP telephony is the ability to create or add phone lines with just one click from your settings menu. With Ringover, you can choose fixed or mobile phone numbers in up to 65 countries.
What are the prefixes for each country?
When making international calls, you dial the country code for the call destination country to route the call correctly.
Don't worry—you don't need to memorize these numbers! It's enough to know your own country's prefix. The rest can be found in our list. Here are the international telephone prefixes for some of the world's most well-known countries, listed alphabetically:
- Germany: +49
- Argentina: +54
- Australia: +61
- Austria: +43
- Belgium: +32
- Bulgaria: +359
- Canada: +1
- Colombia: +57
- Croatia: +385
- Slovakia: +421
- Slovenia: +386
- Spain: +34
- United States: +1
- Estonia: +372
- Finland: +358
- France: +33
- Greece: +30
- Netherlands: +31
- Ireland: +353
- Iceland: +354
- Italy: +39
- Latvia: +371
- Lithuania: +370
- Luxembourg: +352
- Malta: +356
- Morocco: +212
- Mexico: +52
- Norway: +47
- Poland: +48
- Portugal: +351
- United Kingdom: +44
- Russia: +7
- Sweden: +46
- Switzerland: +41
- Venezuela: +58
Improve Efficiency when Working Internationally
Ringover provides international phone numbers and a wide variety of productivity features, like power dialer, call campaigns, and more.
Discover Ringover
How to Identify the Country of a Phone Number?
First, it's important to understand that the first digits of a phone number are not randomly assigned. Specifically, the prefix and the very first digit indicate the country the number belongs to and whether the call is from a mobile phone, a landline, a government organization, or even if it is a toll-free call.
To determine where a call is coming from, simply check the number following the "+" or "00". For instance, if you receive a call starting with +34, it's from Spain. The same rule applies to other countries and regions.
Which Country Uses the +1 Prefix?
The +1 prefix is assigned to the United States and Canada. Both countries share this prefix because international dialing did not exist when the first telephone system and the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) were established. As a result, all countries and territories within the NANP use +1 as their country code.
The NANP includes:
- The United States
- Canada
- Various Caribbean nations and territories from the former "World Zone 1"
There's also the question of whether +1 and 011 are the same, and if they can be used interchangeably. The answer is no: +1 and 011 are not the same. In fact, +1 is used to reach US phone numbers, and 011 is used to call a contact not in North America. +1 is the international calling code for the United States, used to reach a US phone number. 011 is the international direct dialing code for North America, used to reach any phone number that is not North American. You'll use these codes for any VoIP international calls, or even if you are not using VoIP technology to make a call.
What Are the Country Codes?
Country codes vary depending on the geographic location of the number. This information can be easily identified thanks to international dialing codes and the specific area codes assigned to different regions.
With Ringover, you can obtain virtual numbers from over 65 countries and make unlimited calls to more than 110 destinations worldwide. Simply choose the country and region where you want your number to belong, and you're set. Start your free trial today and reach prospects worldwide!
