Country Dialing Guide

Equatorial Guinea country code +240 — call Equatorial Guinea & get a number.

Everything you need to dial Equatorial Guinea correctly — country code +240, area codes across Malabo and Bata, mobile number formats, and the recent capital-city change that's easy to miss if your information is more than a year or two old. Plus how to get a local Equatorial Guinea number for your business in minutes.

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🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea · LiveAfrica/Malabo
--:--:--
Malabo
Bata
Ciudad de la Paz
+240
Country code
00
Exit code
1.7
People
1.7
Population
Active SIMs
2
Mobile operators
+240
Country code
01At a glance

Equatorial Guinea at a glance

The numbers and facts you need before you dial.

Country
Equatorial Guinea (Republic of Equatorial Guinea)
Country code
+240
ISO codes
GQ / GNQ
Exit code (dialing out)
00 (to reach international numbers from Equatorial Guinea)
Capital
Ciudad de la Paz (the country's newly designated capital on the mainland, replacing Malabo — verify current administrative rollout status, as Malabo remains the country's largest city and long-standing seat of government institutions during the transition)
Population
Approximately 1.7–1.9 million (verify against latest official/UN estimate)
Currency
Central African CFA Franc (XAF), symbol Fr
Official languages
Spanish, French, and Portuguese (a distinctive trilingual arrangement, and the only African nation with Spanish as an official language)
Time zone
West Africa Time (WAT), UTC+1, year-round
Observes DST
No — Equatorial Guinea does not shift its clocks seasonally
Numbering regulator
Government-overseen telecom sector (verify current dedicated regulator name before publishing)
Notable fact
The only country in Africa with Spanish as an official language, and one of the continent's largest oil producers relative to its small population
Emergency number
Varies by locality; verify current unified emergency number before publishing
Internet TLD
.gq
02The basics

What is the country code for Equatorial Guinea?

Equatorial Guinea's country code, +240, covers a small but geographically split nation: part of the country sits on Bioko Island in the Gulf of Guinea (long home to Malabo, the historic capital), while the larger mainland portion — Río Muni — borders Cameroon and Gabon. That geographic split shows up directly in the numbering plan, where area codes are assigned separately for Malabo (on the island) and Bata (on the mainland, the country's largest mainland city).

Equatorial Guinea's domestic numbering uses 9-digit local numbers, with landline numbers beginning with 3 and mobile numbers beginning with 2 or 5 — a clear, easy-to-recognize split between fixed and mobile services that makes it straightforward to tell what kind of number you're dialing at a glance.

Code +240 was assigned to Equatorial Guinea by the ITU under the E.164 plan. The “+” means “dial your local international exit code”; on a mobile, press and hold 0 to type it.

+24000240011 24000 240

All four mean the same thing — they connect your call to Equatorial Guinea.

03Dialing format

How to call Equatorial Guinea from anywhere

Calling Equatorial Guinea from abroad: +240 XX XXX XXXX (mobile) or +240 X XXX XXXX (landline, area-code dependent).

Calling within Equatorial Guinea: local numbers are dialed in the domestic 9-digit format directly.

Calling out from Equatorial Guinea: dial 00 + country code + local number for international destinations.

COUNTRY
+240
·
AREA
9
·
SUBSCRIBER
XXX XXXX

Full example: +240 9 XXX XXXX — drop the local leading 0 when calling from abroad.

United States & Canada
exit 011
011 + 240 + area code + number
011 240 9 XXXXXXX
United Kingdom
exit 00
00 + 240 + area code + number
00 240 9 XXXXXXX
Europe
exit 00
00 + 240 + area code + number
00 240 9 XXXXXXX
Australia
exit 0011
0011 + 240 + area code + number
0011 240 9 XXXXXXX
04Number format

Equatorial Guinea phone number format explained

Equatorial Guinea phone numbers generally follow this structure: +240 (0)X XXX XXXX — 9 digits total following the country code. Country code 240; area codes historically 8 for Bata (mainland), 9 for Malabo (Bioko Island), and 7 for other mainland areas near Malabo's administrative reach (verify current area-code table, as numbering plans are periodically restructured); landline numbers begin with 3; mobile numbers begin with 2 or 5; the remaining digits form the subscriber number.

Because landline and mobile numbers use distinctly different leading digits, there's rarely ambiguity about which type of number you're dialing, even without checking a full area-code reference table.

Landline

+240-9-XXX-XXXX (Malabo); +240-8-XXX-XXXX (Bata) — landline numbers begin with 3

Mobile

+240-XX-XXX-XXXX — mobile numbers begin with 2 or 5

05Area codes

Equatorial Guinea area codes — major cities

Drop the local leading 0 when calling from abroad.

// Full directory3 entries
CityRegionArea code
Malabo (Bioko Island)Bioko Norte9
BataLitoral (mainland)8
Other mainland areasRío Muni7
06Mobile networks

Equatorial Guinea mobile network prefixes

The prefix after +240 tells you which network issued the SIM — though number portability means it no longer guarantees the operator.

G

GETESA (Orange Equatorial Guinea)

+240 a joint venture involving Orange, long the dominant fixed-line and mobile operator in the country.

AM

Additional mobile entrants

+240 have appeared in the market over time as part of the country's telecom liberalization efforts (verify current active operators and market share before publishing, as this is a smaller and less-documented telecom market than many neighboring countries).

07Time zone

Equatorial Guinea time zone

Equatorial Guinea sits in West Africa Time (WAT), UTC+1, year-round.

Equatorial Guinea does not observe daylight saving time — the UTC+1 offset holds constant all year, matching Nigeria, Cameroon, and other West and Central African WAT-zone neighbors, so once you've confirmed the offset against your own city, it stays correct indefinitely without needing a seasonal re-check specific to Equatorial Guinea itself.

Why this matters for business: if you're coordinating call center hours, IVR schedules, or SLA windows against Equatorial Guinea, the only variable to track is whether your own city shifts its clocks for DST — Equatorial Guinea's side of the equation never changes.

London (GMT/BST)
same in UK winter, 1 hour behind in UK summer
Lagos (WAT)
same year-round
New York (EST/EDT)
5 / 4 hours ahead
Los Angeles (PST/PDT)
8 / 7 hours ahead
Madrid (CET/CEST)
same in winter, 1 hour behind in summer
Best call windows
Because Equatorial Guinea never shifts for DST, once you've confirmed the UTC+1 offset against your own city, the math stays correct year-round — the only variable is whether your own time zone shifts, not Equatorial Guinea's.
08Emergency

Emergency numbers in Equatorial Guinea

Free to call from any Equatorial Guinea phone, landline or mobile.

Varies by locality
No confirmed unified emergency number — verify locally before relying on it
09Avoid these

Common mistakes when calling Equatorial Guinea

Almost every failed international call is a formatting issue, not a network issue.

Assuming Malabo is still the current capital without checking

Equatorial Guinea has been actively relocating its capital to the newly built Ciudad de la Paz — verify the current status before stating a capital as settled fact.

Assuming Equatorial Guinea shares a time zone quirk with its neighbors' DST practices

WAT-zone countries in this region generally don't observe DST, but always confirm rather than assume for any less-documented market.

Confusing landline and mobile prefixes

Landline numbers begin with 3, while mobile numbers begin with 2 or 5 — a simple distinction that avoids mixing up number types.

Overlooking the Bioko Island/mainland (Río Muni) geographic split

Malabo (island) and Bata (mainland) are physically separated by open water, not just administratively distinct — coverage, logistics, and local business hours can differ meaningfully between the two.

10Save money

Tips to reduce the cost of calling Equatorial Guinea

Verify the capital before referencing it in formal communication

the ongoing Malabo-to-Ciudad de la Paz transition means any current-events or address reference should be checked against an up-to-date source rather than assumed fixed.

Use the leading digit to instantly identify number type

landline numbers start with 3, mobile numbers start with 2 or 5 — no need to cross-check a full area-code table just to know which kind of number you're dialing.

Route calls through VoIP or an MCM virtual number rather than paying carrier international rates into +240.

Plan separately for island and mainland coverage

Malabo and Bata are Equatorial Guinea's two main hubs but sit on opposite sides of open water — don't assume identical logistics or business hours between them.

11For business

Why businesses get a Equatorial Guinea virtual number

Equatorial Guinea holds two distinctions that make it stand out sharply from its Central African neighbors. First, linguistically: it is the only country in Africa where Spanish is an official language, a legacy of Spanish colonial rule, spoken alongside French and Portuguese in a genuinely trilingual official framework that's essentially unique on the continent.

Second, geographically and administratively: the country has been in the process of relocating its capital from Malabo (on Bioko Island) to a newly built city, Ciudad de la Paz (formerly known during construction as Oyala/Djibloho), located inland on the mainland. This kind of deliberate, purpose-built capital relocation is rare globally, and callers, journalists, and businesses referencing "the capital of Equatorial Guinea" should be aware the answer has been actively changing — Malabo remains the country's largest city and a major commercial and diplomatic hub even as government functions shift to the new capital.

For businesses, the practical takeaway is to treat any "capital city" reference for Equatorial Guinea as something to verify against a current source rather than assume is fixed — and to recognize that a Spanish-language customer support option may resonate particularly well here, given the country's unique linguistic position in Africa.

Higher answer rates

Local caller IDs are answered far more often than unfamiliar international numbers.

Lower trust friction

A local number signals legitimate presence without a physical office.

Cheaper inbound

Customers call at local rates — no one rejects your calls for cost.

Centralized routing

Calls forward to your existing call center, mobile, or SIP platform — handled from anywhere.

Faster expansion

Launch a local line in a day instead of incorporating a local entity.

Real PSTN presence

A genuine local DID that rings on your phone system worldwide.

MCMPlatform

Equatorial Guinea virtual numbers with My Country Mobile

My Country Mobile makes it simple to get a working Equatorial Guinea +240 virtual number without setting up local infrastructure on Bioko Island or the mainland — provision a number, route it to your existing team or IVR anywhere in the world, and manage call handling on Equatorial Guinea's stable, DST-free WAT schedule. Trusted by 17,500+ businesses, backed by a 99.99% uptime SLA, live across 190+ countries, and rated ★4.8/5 on G2 — MCM gives you a local Equatoguinean presence with global-grade infrastructure behind it.

Local DIDs in major area codes — provisioned in minutes

Call forwarding to any mobile, landline, SIP endpoint, or softphone worldwide

HD voice with G.711, G.729, Opus & AMR-WB — auto-negotiated per call

Sub-150ms latency on major voice corridors via distributed PoPs

99.99% uptime SLA backed by geo-redundant infrastructure & sub-2s failover

WebRTC support for browser-based calling without softphone installs

REST APIs for provisioning, routing & call detail records (CDRs)

Built-in fraud protection with AI anomaly detection & STIR/SHAKEN

24/7 network monitoring and dedicated support

12Get started

How to get your Equatorial Guinea virtual number

Most businesses are live within hours, not days.

1

Choose your Equatorial Guinea number type — select a +240 local virtual number suited to your use case: customer support, sales, or a dedicated line for the energy, logistics, or trade sector.

2

Set up call routing — point the number to your existing phone system, softphone, or contact center; no need for a physical office on Bioko Island or the mainland.

3

Configure business hours correctly — set your IVR and availability windows against West Africa Time (UTC+1), no DST adjustment ever needed.

4

Go live — start receiving and making calls under your new Equatorial Guinea number within minutes, with support for scaling to other Central African markets as you grow.

13Related countries

Other country dialing guides

More country codes worth bookmarking.

Get a Equatorial Guinea virtual number with MCM

Sound local in Malabo or Bata from anywhere — start your free trial and claim a +240 Equatorial Guinea number today.

FAQ

Equatorial Guinea +240 — FAQ

What is the country code for Equatorial Guinea?expand_more

Equatorial Guinea uses country code +240.

What is the capital of Equatorial Guinea?expand_more

Equatorial Guinea has been relocating its capital from Malabo to a newly built city, Ciudad de la Paz, on the mainland — verify current status, as this transition has been ongoing and Malabo remains the largest city and a major hub.

Does Equatorial Guinea observe Daylight Saving Time?expand_more

No. Equatorial Guinea stays on West Africa Time (WAT), UTC+1, year-round with no seasonal clock changes.

How do I call Equatorial Guinea from abroad?expand_more

Dial +240, then the area code and local number — e.g., +240 XX XXX XXXX for a mobile number.

Is Equatorial Guinea the only African country with Spanish as an official language?expand_more

Yes. It's the only nation in Africa with Spanish as an official language, alongside French and Portuguese — a legacy of Spanish colonial rule.

How can I tell a landline number from a mobile number in Equatorial Guinea?expand_more

Landline numbers begin with 3, while mobile numbers begin with 2 or 5 — an easy distinction to check at a glance.

What currency is used in Equatorial Guinea?expand_more

The Central African CFA Franc (XAF), symbol Fr, shared with several other Central African nations.

Who is the main mobile/telecom operator in Equatorial Guinea?expand_more

GETESA (a joint venture involving Orange) has historically been the dominant fixed-line and mobile operator, though the market has seen additional entrants over time (verify current competitive landscape).

Can I get a virtual Equatorial Guinea phone number without living there?expand_more

Yes. Providers like MCM let you provision a +240 virtual number and route calls to any location worldwide — useful for businesses serving the country's energy sector, trade partners, or Spanish-speaking customer base without a physical office in the country.

Why is Equatorial Guinea's capital change unusual?expand_more

Deliberately relocating a national capital to a newly constructed city is rare globally — Equatorial Guinea's move from island-based Malabo to the mainland's Ciudad de la Paz is one of relatively few active examples of this happening in the world today.