Calling to Eritrea
- Do not dial a leading ‘0’ in the international call sequence – it is only used in Eritrea 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 ‘7’. Do not dial a 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 currently 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 currently roaming.
… to a satellite phone
Eritrea 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 Eritrea (domestic dialing)
‘0’ is used as a trunk prefix for calling to a different area code within Eritrea.
Local calling (within the same area code)
To call within the same area code in Eritrea dial only the local number. Do not dial the trunk prefix ‘0’ or the area code.
| ”six |
| ”local |
Long distance calling (to a different area code, or from a mobile phone)
To call to a different area code within Eritrea dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the one digit area code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | one digit | six digits |
| trunk prefix | area code | local phone number |
Mobile calling (to a mobile phone)
To call a mobile phone within Eritrea dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the one digit carrier code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | one digits | six digits |
| trunk prefix | carrier code | local phone number |
Eritrea’s phone numbers explained
Number details
Eritrean phone numbers are seven digits (eight including a leading ‘0’ that is not included in the call when dialed from outside the country).
Mobile numbers are represented by area codes starting with ‘7’ and ‘8’.
An example of an Eritrean phone number
The Sunshine Hotel lists its phone number in Asmara as 291-1-127880.
Phone number explanation
| 291 | 1 | 127880 |
| country code for Eritrea | designates a land-line (fixed line) phone number | local phone number |
Local example – calling from another location in Asmara, Eritrea
To call within the same area code dial only the local phone number. Do not dial the trunk prefix ‘0’ or the area code.
| 127 880 |
| local phone number |
Long distance example – calling from Assab, Eritrea (on the other side of the country)
To call to a different area code dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the area code and local phone number.
| 0 | 1 | 127 880 |
| domestic call prefix | designates a land-line (fixed line) phone number | local phone number |
Mobile phone example – calling from a mobile phone (including a foreign mobile roaming in Eritrea)
To call from a mobile phone dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the area code and local phone number.
| 0 | 1 | 127 880 |
| domestic call prefix | designates a land-line (fixed line) phone number | local phone number |
International example – calling from outside Eritrea
To call from outside Eritrea, dial the exit code of the country the call is dialed from, followed by Eritrea’s country code of ‘291’, followed by the local phone number.
Do not dial any leading ‘0’ listed in the Eritrean phone number.
| exit code | 291 | 1 | 127 880 |
| exit code of the country the call is dialed from | country code | designates a land-line (fixed line) phone number | local phone number |
Calling from Eritrea
’00’ is used as an exit code when dialing an international call from Eritrea.
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 – Eritrea (country code +291) National Numbering Plan – Details of Eritrea’s telephone numbering plan as submitted to the ITU. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- Wikipedia – Telephone numbers in Eritrea – Wikipedia entry for telephone number data for Eritrea. Includes specific number ranges for each city as well as detail on calling procedures.
- BT – The Phonebook – Eritrea – Entry for Eritrea in the British Telecom international directory.