Nigeria’s Country Codes
- Telephone: +234
- 2 Letter: NG
- 3 Letter: NGA
- ISO 3116-1 Numeric: 566
- Internet TLD: .ng
- ICAO Airport Code: DN
- Maritime Identification Digits: 657
- Emoji Flag: U+1F1F3 U+1F1EC
- Official Name: The Federal Republic of Nigeria
How to call Nigeria
- Do not include a leading ‘0’ in the international call sequence – it is only used in Nigeria 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’, ‘8’, and ‘9’. Phone numbers are often listed with a leading ‘0’ however the leading ‘0’ is not dialed 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
Nigeria does not have designated phone numbers for satellite phones.
Most satellite phones operate on their country code – calls to these satellite phones follow their own call sequence.
… sending a fax
Use the same call sequence.
How to call within Nigeria (domestic dialing)
‘0’ is used as a trunk prefix within Nigeria. It is dialed (along with the area code) for calls to a different area code or a mobile phone. Do not dial it when calling within the same area code.
Local calling (within the same area code)
To call within the same area code dial only the local phone number. Do not dial the trunk prefix ‘0’ or the area code.
| firstone |
| firsttwo |
Long distance calling (to a different area code, or from a mobile phone)
To call to a different area code, dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the destination area code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | two digits | seven digits |
| trunk prefix | area code | local phone number |
Mobile calling (to a mobile phone)
To call a mobile phone within Nigeria dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the ten digit mobile number.
| 0 | ten digits | thirdone |
| trunk prefix | local phone number | thirdtwo |
Nigeria’s phone numbers explained
Number details
Nigerian phone numbers are seven digits (landline) or ten digits (mobile). If a leading ‘0’ (that is not dialed when called from outside the country) is included it would be eight and eleven digits.
The first digit designates whether the phone number is a landline or a mobile phone.
The first two digits of a landline designate an area code for a geographic part of the country.
Mobile numbers begin with digits ‘7’, ‘8’, or ‘9’.
An example of a Nigerian phone number
The Wheatbaker lists its phone number in Lagos as + 234(1) 277 3560.
Phone number explanation
| 234 | 1 | 277 3560 |
| country code for Nigeria | geographic (area) code for Lagos | local phone number within Lagos |
Local example – calling from another location in Lagos, Nigeria
To call within the same area code, dial only the local phone number. Do not dial the trunk prefix ‘0’ or the area code.
| 277 3560 |
| local phone number within Lagos |
Long distance example – calling from Gwoza, Nigeria (on the other side of the country)
To call from a different area code dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the area code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | 1 | 277 3560 |
| trunk prefix | geographic (area) code for Lagos | local phone number within Lagos |
Mobile phone example – calling from a mobile phone (including a foreign mobile phone roaming in Nigeria)
To call from a mobile phone dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, then the area code, then the local phone number.
| 0 | 1 | 277 3560 |
| trunk prefix | geographic (area) code for Lagos | local phone number within Lagos |
International example – calling from outside Nigeria
To call from outside Nigeria, dial the exit code of the country the call is dialed from, followed by Nigeria’s country code of ‘234’, followed by the local phone number.
Do not dial any leading ‘0’ listed in the Nigerian phone number.
| exit code | 234 | 1 | 277 3560 |
| exit code of the country the call is dialed from | country code for Nigeria | geographic (area) code for Lagos | local phone number within Lagos |
How to call from Nigeria
‘009’ is used as an exit code when dialing an international call from Nigeria.
Sources and more resources
- Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) – Nigeria’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 – Nigeria (country code +234) National Numbering Plan – Details of Nigeria’s telephone numbering plan as submitted to the ITU. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- Wikipedia – Telephone numbers in Nigeria – Wikipedia entry for telephone number data for Nigeria. Includes specific number ranges for each city as well as detail on calling procedures.
- BT – The Phonebook – Nigeria – Entry for Nigeria in the British Telecom international directory.