Please note: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (capital Kinshasa, also known as “D.R.C.”, formerly known as Zaire) is frequently confused with the Republic of the Congo (capital Brazzaville, also known as Congo Republic, West Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville).
Calling to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Do not dial a leading ‘0’ in the international call sequence – it is only used in the DRC for domestic long distance calls and domestic calls to a mobile phone.
- 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 ‘8’ and ‘9’. Phone numbers are often listed as ’08’ and ’09’. Do not dial the leading ‘0’ when calling from outside the country.
When calling a mobile phone user, dial to the country where the mobile phone is registered, regardless of where the person is roaming.
… to a VoIP phone
Use the same call sequence.
When calling a VoIP phone user, dial to the country where the VoIP phone is registered, regardless of where the person is roaming.
… to a satellite phone
The DRC 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 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (domestic dialing)
‘0’ is used as a trunk prefix for calling to a different area code within the DRC.
Local calling (within the same area code)
To call within the same area code in the DRC dial only the local number. Do not dial the trunk prefix ‘0’ or the area code.
[oneSectionCall firstone=”seven digits” firsttwo=”local phone number”]Long distance calling (to a different area code, or from a mobile phone)
To call to a different area code within the DRC dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the three digit area code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | one digit | seven digits |
| trunk prefix | area code | local phone number |
Mobile calling (to a mobile phone)
To call a mobile phone within the DRC dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the two digit carrier code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | two digits | seven digits |
| trunk prefix | carrier code | local phone number |
Congolese phone numbers explained
Number details
Congolese phone numbers are eight digits (nine including a leading ‘0’ that is not included in the call sequence when dialed from outside the country)
The first digit is an area code that represents a geographic part of the country.
Mobile numbers are represented by area codes starting with ‘8’ or ‘9’.
An example of a Congolese phone number
The Havre de Paix lists its phone number in Kinshasa as +243 825 443 333.
Number explanation
| 243 | 8 | 2 | 5 443 333 |
| country code for the Democratic Republic of the Congo | designates a mobile phone number | designates the Vodacom Congo RDC phone carrier | the remainder of the phone number |
Local example – calling from another location in Kinshasa, DRC
To call within the same area code dial only the local phone number. Do not dial the trunk prefix ‘0’ or the area code.
| 2 | 5 443 333 |
| designates the Vodacom Congo RDC phone carrier | the remainder of the phone number |
Long distance example – calling from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (on the other side of the country)
To call to a different area code dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the area code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | 8 | 2 | 5 443 333 |
| trunk prefix | designates a mobile phone number | designates the Vodacom Congo RDC phone carrier | the remainder of the phone number |
Mobile phone example – calling from a mobile phone (including a foreign mobile roaming in the DRC)
To call from a mobile phone dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the area code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | 8 | 2 | 5 443 333 |
| trunk prefix | designates a mobile phone number | designates the Vodacom Congo RDC phone carrier | the remainder of the phone number |
International example – calling from outside the Democratic Republic of the Congo
To call from outside the DRC, dial the exit code of the country the call is dialed from, followed by the DRC’s country code of ‘243’, followed by the local phone number.
Do not dial any leading ‘0’ listed in the DRC phone number.
[fiveSectionCall firstone=”exit code” firsttwo=”exit code for the country the call is dialed from” secondone=”243″ secondtwo=”country code for the Democratic Republic of the Congo” thirdone=”8″ thirdtwo=”designates a mobile phone number” fourthone=”2″ fourthtwo=”designates the Vodacom Congo RDC phone carrier” fifthone=”5 443 333″ fifthtwo=”the remainder of the phone number”]
Calling from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
’00’ is used as an exit code when dialing an international call from the DRC.
Sources and more resources
- 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 – Democratic Republic of the Congo (country code +243) National Numbering Plan – Details of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s telephone numbering plan as submitted to the ITU. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- Wikipedia – Telephone numbers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – Wikipedia entry for telephone number data for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Includes specific number ranges for each city as well as detail on calling procedures.
- BT – The Phonebook – Democratic Republic of the Congo – Entry for the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the British Telecom international directory.