In depth
Real answers for tricky numbers
The calling code often narrows the country to one, but not always. These rows come from running the checker on numbers that share a code.
| Number | Country | Calling code |
|---|---|---|
| +44 20 7946 0958 | United Kingdom | +44 |
| +1 416 555 0123 | Canada | +1 |
| +1 876 123 4567 | Jamaica | +1 |
| +7 701 123 4567 | Kazakhstan | +7 |
| +7 840 123 4567 | Russia | +7 |
| +358 18 12345 | Åland Islands | +358 |
| +590 590 12 34 56 | Guadeloupe | +590 |
| +800 1234 5678 | None (non-geographic) | +800 |
How the country is worked out
An international number starts with a calling code of one to three digits. For a code with one country, that is the answer. For a shared code such as +1 or +7, the library looks at the first digits of the national number, which are assigned to a single country: +1 416 is Canada and +1 876 is Jamaica. Nine codes, such as +800 and +882, belong to no country, so the checker says non-geographic.
What a country does not prove
The country is where the number was issued. A UK mobile number works in Spain, a business may forward a US number abroad, and a number can be ported to a new network. Do not use the country of a number as a person's location.
Using the country to organise a list
- Paste the whole list, then sort the downloaded CSV by country to split a mailing list into regions.
- Set the default country when most numbers are local, so numbers without a plus sign are placed correctly.
- Review the rows marked Invalid. A wrong country code is the most common cause, for example a US number saved with a UK code.
- Remember that one country can span several time zones, as the US, Russia and Brazil do, so the country alone is not enough to decide when to call.