Calling to Botswana
- A leading '+' in the phone number means 'dial your country's exit code'.
- Calling from a mobile phone: dial from on the country where you're currently located.
- Calling from a VoIP or satellite phone: dial from on the country where the phone is registered.
… to a mobile (cellular) phone or text (sms)
Use the same call sequence.
Mobile phone numbers begin with ‘7’.
When calling a mobile phone user, dial to the country where the mobile phone is registered, regardless of where the person is currently roaming.
… to a VoIP phone
Use the same call sequence.
When calling a VoIP phone user, cdial to the country where the VoIP phone is registered, regardless of where the person is currently roaming.
… to a satellite phone
Botswana does not have a country-specific satellite phone system.
Most satellite phones operate on their country code – calls to these satellite phones follow their call sequence.
… sending a fax
Use the same call sequence.
Calling within Botswana (domestic dialing)
Dial the entire seven to eight digit phone number for all calls within Botswana. There is no trunk number used when calling within Botswana.
| seven to eight digit number |
| firsttwo |
Botswana’s phone numbers explained
Number details
Botswana’s numbers are seven (landlines) to eight (mobile phones) digits.
The first digit designates whether the phone number is a mobile or landline.
The second and third digits of a landline phone number area an area (geographic) code.
Mobile numbers are represented by area codes starting with 7. The second digit designates the mobile phone carrier.
An example of a Botswanan phone number
The Tlo Tlo Hotel and Conference Center lists its phone number in Gaborone as +267 393 5020.
Number explanation
| 267 | 393 | 5020 |
| country code for Botswana | land-line (fixed line) telephone number in the Gaborone area | remainder of the phone number |
Local example – calling from another location in Gaborone, Botswana
Dial the entire seven to eight digit phone number for all calls within Botswana.
| 393 | 5020 |
| land-line (fixed line) telephone number in Gaborone | remainder of the phone number in Gaborone |
Long distance example – calling from Maun, Botswana (on the other side of the country)
Dial the entire seven to eight digit phone number for all calls within Botswana.
| 393 | 5020 |
| land-line (fixed line) telephone number in Gaborone | remainder of the phone number in Gaborone |
Mobile phone example – calling from a mobile phone (including a foreign mobile phone roaming in Botswana)
Dial the entire seven to eight digit phone number for all calls within Botswana.
| 393 | 5020 |
| land-line (fixed line) telephone number in Gaborone | remainder of the phone number in Gaborone |
International example – calling from outside Botswana
To call from outside Botswana, dial the exit code of the country the call is dialed from, followed by Botswana’s country code of ‘267’, followed by the local phone number.
| exit code | 267 | 393 | 5020 |
| exit code for the country the call is dialed from | country code for Botswana | land-line (fixed line) telephone number in Gaborone | remainder of the phone number in Gaborone |
Calling from Botswana
’00’ is used as an exit code when dialing an international call from Botswana.
Sources and more resources
- Botswana Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (BTRA)– Botswana’s telephone systems regulator.
- ITU (International Telecommunications Union) – United Nations specialized agency for information and communications technologies.
- International Telecommunications Union – DIALLING PROCEDURES (INTERNATIONAL PREFIX, NATIONAL (TRUNK) PREFIX AND NATIONAL (SIGNIFICANT) NUMBER) (IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITU-T RECOMMENDATION E.164 (11/2010)) – A collection of dialing procedures for all countries and regions of the world. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- International Telecommunications Union – Botswana (country code +267) National Numbering Plan – Details of Botswana’s telephone numbering plan as submitted to the ITU. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- Wikipedia – Telephone numbers in Botswana – Wikipedia entry for telephone number data for Botswana. Includes specific number ranges for each city as well as detail on calling procedures.
- BT – The Phonebook – Botswana – Entry for Botswana in the British Telecom international directory.