Telephone numbers in South Africa are administered by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. On 16 January 2007, the country switched to a closed numbering plan. It became mandatory to dial the full nine-digit national telephone number. For calls within the country, this is prefixed by trunk code ''0'' (zero), which is often included in listings of the

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 ...

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. Special services by Telkom have numbers with special formats. When dialed from another country, the national number is prefixed with the appropriate international access code and the telephone country code 27.

Background

History

Numbers were allocated when

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

had only four provinces, meaning that ranges are now split across the current nine provinces.

Namibia

South-West Africa (including Walvis Bay) was integrated into the South African numbering plan. However, the

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU: * * is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...

(ITU) had already allocated country code ''264'' in the late 1960s. Following its independence,

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

discontinued direct dialing from South Africa and replaced it with international dialing using country code 264. For example, for a call from South Africa to

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

, before and after 1992: : Before 1992: 061 xxx xxxx : After 1992: 09 26461 xxx xxxx : After January 2007: 00 26461 xxx xxxx

Lesotho

Calls to

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

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 Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

, Swaziland and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

could similarly be made using the regional codes 0192, 0194 and 0191, respectively, instead of the international codes 267, 268 and 263.

Number ranges

00

International access code effective from 16 October 2006 and mandatory from 16 January 2007.

01

The old Transvaal province, currently comprising

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

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

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, currently code for the entirety of Greater Johannesburg : ''012'':

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

and surrounding towns (also includes Brits) : ''013'': Eastern

( Bronkhorstspruit) and Western and northern Mpumalanga: Middelburg,

Witbank Witbank (), officially eMalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named ...

and Nelspruit : ''014'': Northern North West and Southwestern Limpopo: Rustenburg and Modimolle : ''015'': Northern and Eastern Limpopo: Polokwane : ''016'': Vaal Triangle: Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg, which constitutes an anomaly, since Sasolburg isn't the old Transvaal. : ''017'': Southern Mpumalanga: Ermelo : ''018'': Southern North West: Mahikeng, Lichtenburg,

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

and Klerksdorp

02

Western and

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

: : ''021'':

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

metropole and surrounds, including

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

Somerset West Somerset West () is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality Eastern Suburbs zone (formerly called ...

and Gordon's Bay : ''022'': Boland and West Coast: Malmesbury : ''023'': Worcester and greater Karoo, 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 : ''028'': Southern region: Swellendam and Caledon / Hermanus region.

03

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

: : ''031'':

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

: ''032'': KZN North coast region: Verulam, Tongaat,

Ballito Ballito is an affluent coastal town located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Ballito is about north of Durban and 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of KwaDukuza. It forms part of the KwaDukuza Local Municipality, and iLembe District Municipality. ...

and Stanger : ''033'': Pietermaritzburg and KwaZulu-Natal Midlands : ''034'':

Vryheid Vryheid (/Abaqulusi) is a coal mining and cattle ranching town in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Vryheid is the Afrikaans word for "freedom", while its original name of Abaqulusi reflects the AbaQulusi (Zulu), abaQulusi clan based in the loc ...

, Newcastle and Northern KZN : ''035'': Zululand region:

St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

, Richards Bay, Ulundi : ''036'':

Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Zulu language, Zulu: uKhahlamba, Sotho language, Sotho: Maloti, Afrikaans: Drakensberge) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, Southern Africa, Great Escarpment, which encloses the central South Africa#Geography, Sout ...

region: Ladysmith : ''039'': KwaZulu-Natal South Coast region: Port Shepstone and interior, and Eastern Pondoland (in Eastern Cape)

04

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

and eastern parts of the Western Cape: : ''040'': Bhisho : ''041'': Gqeberha and Uitenhage : ''042'': Southern region: Humansdorp : ''043'': East London and surrounds : ''044'': Garden Route, including Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay,

Mossel Bay Mossel Bay () is a harbour town of about 170,000 people on the Garden Route of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the country's seat of parliament, Ca ...

and George : ''045'': Central region: Queenstown : ''046'': Southern region: Grahamstown, Bathurst, Port Alfred, Kenton-on-Sea : ''047'': Mthatha / most of previous

Transkei Transkei ( , meaning ''the area beyond Great Kei River, he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei (), was an list of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa f ...

: ''048'': Northern region: Steynsburg : ''049'': Western region: Graaff-Reinet

05

Free State and Northern Cape : ''051'': Central and southern region:

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

, and Aliwal North in E Cape : ''053'': Kimberley, 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 : ''0600'': Cellular: Used by Liquid Telecommunications (South Africa) : ''0601 - 0602'': Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta) : ''0603 - 0605'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0606 - 0609'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''061'': Cellular: Used by Cell C : ''062'': Cellular: Used by Cell C : ''0630 - 0635'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0636 - 0637'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''0640'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0641 - 0645'': Cellular: Used by Cell C : ''0646 - 0649'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''0650 - 0654'': Cellular: Used by Cell C : ''0655 - 0657'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0658 - 0659'': Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta) : ''066'': 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) : ''0686 - 0689'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0690'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0691 - 0699'': 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 : ''0741'': Cellular: Used by: Virgin Mobile as of June 2006 to September 2021 : ''076'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''0771 - 0775'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''078'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''079'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom

08

Cellular

: ''0810'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''0811 - 0815'': Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta) : ''0816'': Cellular: Used by

Rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

: ''0817'': Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta) : ''0818'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''0819'': Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta) : ''082'': Cellular: Used by Vodacom : ''083'': Cellular: Used by MTN : ''084'': Cellular: Used by Cell C

Special Services

: ''080'': ''FreeCall'', Toll-free, called party pays : ''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 (

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as IP telephony, is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. VoIP enables voice calls to be transmitted as ...

br>
among others) : ''088'': Fax Divert, 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.''

09X XXX XXX (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. 09X XXX XXXX numbers are no longer in use in South Africa.

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

Telecommunications in South Africa Telephone numbers