Question: I am calling a country with country with country code “0086” – I do not recognize this number – what country is it? The phone number I was given is “0086 21 3330 xxxx.”
Answer: The number you are trying to call looks like China. The phone number is likely in Shanghai.
“00” is an international exit code (the number used to access the international switchboard) for most Asian and European countries. If ’00’ is dialed from a country that does not use that as its exit code (the U.S. and Canada use ‘011’, Australia uses ‘0011’, Japan uses ‘010’, many countries of the former U.S.S.R use ‘8’ – wait for the dial tone – ’10’), the call will not work.
“86” is the country code for China. It is the number that is dialed to reach China from the international switchboard.
The remainder of the number appears to be the format for a Chinese phone number. The ’21’ signifies the area code for Shanghai within the Chinese numbering system. The remainder of the phone number is separated into eight numbers (two blocks of four digits).
See our “how to call China” page for details on how to call China from anywhere in the world.