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Telephone numbers in Lesotho

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Source updated July 19, 2026

The following are the telephone numbers in Lesotho. Lesotho was allocated the country code +266 by the International Telecommunication Union in the late 1960s. Phone numbers in are eight digits long, the first two digits being the area code. Previously, Lesotho had area codes, which were integrated into the South African telephone numbering plan, and calls could be made from South Africa using the regional code 050. For example, to call a number in Maseru, subscribers would dial 0501, while to call a number in Mazenod, they would dial 05022. From the rest of the world, subscribers would dial +266 1.

01Area codes

22,28 Maseru Reserved for fixed
56,57,58,59,63, Reserved for cellular use
27,52 Reserved for fixed mobile (corporated direct)
6x Reserved for cellular use

02Proposed use for international SMS

There had been some interest in using part of this country's numbering scheme to run international SMS promotions or competitions, as when +CNN is spelt out on an E.161 standard telephone keypad, it translates to +266. CNN's degree of interest in the idea was unknown at the time.

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This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Telephone numbers in Lesotho”, 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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