Telephone numbers in Nigeria
Telephone numbers in Nigeria are administered by the Nigerian Communications Commission. Fixed-line numbers are composed of a combination of an area code and a local line or subscriber telephone number. The area code consists of 20 followed by one digit (Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja) or two digits. The 20 was added to the beginning of each fixed-line area code in 2023, during which there was a grace period when both area code formats were accepted, which lasted until 1 January 2024. Local telephone numbers contain from five to seven digits, and may vary within the area code. Mobile telephone numbers start with 070, 080 or 081, 090 or 091, and are followed by eight digits. They contain eleven digits altogether and vary depending on network.
01Calling formats
These examples use calls to Lagos as an example:
- xxx xxxx, Calls within the same local area code (Lagos)
- 0201 xxx xxxx, Calls to Lagos from another Nigerian geographic area
- +234 201 xxx xxxx, Calls to Lagos from outside Nigeria
- 0xxx xxx xxxx, Calls to a Nigerian mobile number
02Mobile network prefixes
The following prefixes are assigned to mobile telephone network operators. Nigeria implemented mobile number portability in 2013. Therefore, prefixes no longer reliably indicate the parent network of a number.
| Prefix | Network |
|---|---|
| 0701 | Airtel Nigeria |
| 07020 | Smile |
| 07025 | MTN Nigeria (formerly Visafone) |
| 07026 | MTN Nigeria (formerly Visafone) |
| 07027 | Multi-Links |
| 07028 | Starcomms |
| 07029 | Starcomms |
| 0703 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0704 | MTN Nigeria (formerly Visafone) |
| 0705 | Globacom |
| 0706 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0707 | MTN Nigeria (formerly ZoomMobile) |
| 0708 | Airtel Nigeria |
| 0709 | Multi-Links |
| 0802 | Airtel Nigeria |
| 0803 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0804 | Mtel |
| 0805 | Globacom |
| 0806 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0807 | Globacom |
| 0808 | Airtel Nigeria |
| 0809 | 9mobile |
| 0810 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0811 | Globacom |
| 0812 | Airtel Nigeria |
| 0813 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0814 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0815 | Globacom |
| 0816 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0817 | 9mobile |
| 0818 | 9mobile |
| 0819 | Starcomms |
| 0909 | 9mobile |
| 0908 | 9mobile |
| 0901 | Airtel Nigeria |
| 0902 | Airtel Nigeria |
| 0903 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0904 | Airtel Nigeria |
| 0905 | Globacom |
| 0906 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0907 | Airtel Nigeria |
| 0915 | Globacom |
| 0913 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0912 | Airtel Nigeria |
| 0916 | MTN Nigeria |
| 0911 | Airtel Nigeria |
03Area codes
| List of area codes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Area/City | Area Code | Area/City | Area Code |
| Lagos | 0201 | Ibadan | 0202 |
| Abuja | 0209 | Ado-Ekiti | 02030 |
| Ilorin | 02031 | New Bussa | 02033 |
| Akure | 02034 | Oshogbo | 02035 |
| Ile-Ife | 02036 | Ijebu-Ode | 02037 |
| Oyo | 02038 | Abeokuta | 02039 |
| Wukari | 02041 | Enugu | 02042 |
| Abakaliki | 02043 | Makurdi | 02044 |
| Ogoja | 02045 | Onitsha | 02046 |
| Lafia | 02047 | Awka | 02048 |
| Ikare | 02050 | Owo | 02051 |
| Benin City | 02052 | Warri | 02053 |
| Sapele | 02054 | Agbor | 02055 |
| Asaba | 02056 | Auchi | 02057 |
| Lokoja | 02058 | Okitipupa | 02059 |
| Sokoto | 02060 | Kafanchan | 02061 |
| Kaduna | 02062 | Gusau | 02063 |
| Kano | 02064 | Katsina | 02065 |
| Minna | 02066 | Kontagora | 02067 |
| Birnin-Kebbi | 02068 | Zaria | 02069 |
| Pankshin | 02070 | Azare | 02071 |
| Gombe | 02072 | Jos | 02073 |
| Yola | 02075 | Maiduguri | 02076 |
| Bauchi | 02077 | Hadejia | 02078 |
| Jalingo | 02079 | Aba | 02082 |
| Owerri | 02083 | Port Harcourt | 02084 |
| Uyo | 02085 | Ahoada | 02086 |
| Calabar | 02087 | Umuahia | 02088 |
| Yenagoa | 02089 | Ubiaja | 02055 |
| Kwara | 02031 | Igarra | 02057 |
| Ughelli | 02053 | Uromi | 02057 |
04Other numbers
Tollfree numbers begin with “0800” (800 without the leading zero), while non-tollfree numbers start with “0700” or 700 without the leading zero. These numbers have 10 digits and are not mobile numbers.
The emergency number is 112 and also 767 in Lagos state.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Telephone numbers in Nigeria”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
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