Country Dialing Guide

Lebanon country code +961 — call Lebanon & get a number.

Lebanon's diaspora outnumbers its resident population several times over, so +961 lines ring in from the Gulf, Europe, the Americas and West Africa every day. This guide covers dialing Lebanon correctly from anywhere, the Beirut and regional area codes, the Alfa and touch mobile prefixes, EET with its summer shift, and getting a Lebanese number through MCM.

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🇱🇧 Lebanon · LiveAsia/Beirut
--:--:--
Beirut
Tripoli
Sidon
+961
Country code
00
Exit code
5.4 m
People
5.4 m
Population
~4 million mobile connections (Alfa + Touch)
Active SIMs
2
Mobile operators
+961
Country code
01At a glance

Lebanon at a glance

The numbers and facts you need before you dial.

Country name
Lebanese Republic
Country code
+961
ISO codes
LB / LBN
Exit code (from Lebanon)
00
Trunk prefix (within)
0
Capital
Beirut
Largest city
Beirut
Population
~5.4 million (2025)
Currency
Lebanese pound (LBP, ل.ل)
Time zone
Eastern European Time (EET), UTC+2; EEST UTC+3 in summer (DST observed)
Regulator
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA); fixed network operated by OGERO
Active SIMs
~4 million mobile connections (Alfa + Touch)
02The basics

What is the country code for Lebanon?

Lebanon's country code is +961 — the number most of its overseas community dials to stay in touch with home. From abroad, you place +961 after your exit code to reach any Lebanese landline or mobile. Within Lebanon, callers add a trunk prefix 0 before the area code or mobile prefix; that 0 is removed whenever the call originates in another country.

Code +961 was assigned to Lebanon 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.

+96100961011 96100 961

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

03Dialing format

How to call Lebanon from anywhere

Build the call in three parts: your exit code, then Lebanon's country code 961, then the national number with its leading 0 taken off.

COUNTRY
+961
·
AREA
1
·
SUBSCRIBER
XXX XXXX

Full example: +961 1 XXX XXXX — drop the local leading 0 when calling from abroad.

United States & Canada
exit 011
011 + 961 + area code + number
011 961 1 XXXXXXX
United Kingdom
exit 00
00 + 961 + area code + number
00 961 1 XXXXXXX
Europe
exit 00
00 + 961 + area code + number
00 961 1 XXXXXXX
Australia
exit 0011
0011 + 961 + area code + number
0011 961 1 XXXXXXX
04Number format

Lebanon phone number format explained

A Lebanese landline runs to 7 digits behind a 1–2 digit area code, while mobiles carry roughly 6–7 digits after their prefix. In every case the trunk 0 comes off for international dialing — useful to know if you're saving a contact abroad in full +961 form.

Landline

Area code (e.g. 1 for Beirut) + 6-digit subscriber number. Example: 01 234 567 → +961 1 234 567.

Mobile

Prefix (03, 70, 71, 76, 78, 79, 81) + subscriber digits. Example: 03 123 456 → +961 3 123 456.

05Area codes

Lebanon area codes — major cities

Drop the local leading 0 when calling from abroad.

// Full directory10 entries
CityRegionArea code
BeirutBeirut1
TripoliNorth6
Sidon (Saida)South7
Tyre (Sour)South7
ZahleBeqaa8
BaalbekBeqaa8
JouniehMount Lebanon9
Byblos (Jbeil)Mount Lebanon9
AleyMount Lebanon5
NabatiehSouth7
06Mobile networks

Lebanon mobile network prefixes

The prefix after +961 tells you which network issued the SIM — though number portability means it no longer guarantees the operator.

A

Alfa (MIC1)

+961 03, 70, 71, 76

selected 03x/07x ranges

T

Touch (MIC2)

+961 03, 76, 78, 79, 81

selected 03x/07x/081x ranges

07Time zone

Lebanon time zone

Lebanon keeps Eastern European Time (EET), UTC+2, and moves to EEST (UTC+3) for summer daylight saving. For the diaspora, that twice-yearly shift is worth tracking — the gap to Beirut narrows or widens depending on whether both ends have changed clocks yet.

New York
05:00
London
10:00
Dubai
14:00
Johannesburg
12:00
Singapore
18:00
Best call windows

Late morning to early afternoon in Beirut (around 09:00–14:00) sits neatly across Europe and the Gulf, and stretches into US East Coast mornings — convenient for relatives and clients calling in from those regions.

09Avoid these

Common mistakes when calling Lebanon

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

Forgetting Lebanon swaps to summer time: it observes EEST (UTC+3) in the warmer months, so the gap from your city to Beirut moves around the DST changeover

the classic reason a diaspora call lands an hour off.

Leaving the trunk 0 in: drop it after +961 (dial +961 1…, not +961 01…)

Leaving the trunk 0 in: drop it after +961 (dial +961 1…, not +961 01…).

Reading the operator off the prefix: Alfa and touch share parts of the 03 and 07x ranges, so the prefix alone won't tell you which network a number is on

Reading the operator off the prefix: Alfa and touch share parts of the 03 and 07x ranges, so the prefix alone won't tell you which network a number is on.

Mistaking Beirut's area code 1 for a mobile prefix

Mistaking Beirut's area code 1 for a mobile prefix.

Stacking 00 or 011 after a + sign

the + already covers your exit code.

10Save money

Tips to reduce the cost of calling Lebanon

Switch calls to VoIP or a virtual Lebanese number rather than paying international tariffs

meaningful if you call family or clients in Lebanon often.

Call over WiFi to sidestep roaming and hotel surcharges.

Account for the EET/EEST shift so you reach people inside their day and avoid paid callbacks.

Hold a +961 DID for regular contact so callers in Lebanon reach you at local rates.

11For business

Why businesses get a Lebanon virtual number

Lebanon's economy is tightly woven into its global diaspora, and a local +961 number puts you on the right side of that network — recognizable to customers at home and to the families and firms calling in from abroad.

Stronger pickups

a Lebanese caller ID gets answered more readily than an unknown foreign one.

Less hesitation

callers recognize a +961 number as local rather than overseas.

No inbound surcharge

your callers reach you at local rates.

One routing point

gather Beirut and regional calls into a single team.

Quicker entry

operate in Lebanon without leasing an office there.

A real line

a genuine Lebanese landline number on the public network.

MCMPlatform

Lebanon virtual numbers with My Country Mobile

Provision Lebanese DIDs on carrier-grade infrastructure, with the APIs and voice quality to keep diaspora calls clear.

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 Lebanon virtual number

Most businesses are live within hours, not days.

1

Select your Lebanese number — Beirut or national.

2

Choose a plan and clear quick verification.

3

Direct calls to your team, app or PBX.

4

Activate the line and start taking Lebanese calls.

13Related countries

Other country dialing guides

More country codes worth bookmarking.

Get a Lebanon virtual number with MCM

Reach Lebanon with a local number and clear, reliable voice.

FAQ

Lebanon +961 — FAQ

I'm calling Lebanon from the Gulf or Europe — what exactly do I dial?expand_more

Use +961, then the Lebanese number without its leading 0 — for example +961 3 123 456. The + works the same from the UAE, France, the US or anywhere else.

Why did my call to Beirut land an hour off?expand_more

Lebanon switches between EET (UTC+2) and summer EEST (UTC+3), so around the daylight-saving changeover the time gap shifts — recheck the offset before calling.

Do I keep the 0 in a Lebanese number when calling from abroad?expand_more

No — drop the trunk 0 after +961. Keep it only when dialing inside Lebanon.

Can I tell whether a number is Alfa or touch from its prefix?expand_more

Not reliably. The two operators share parts of the 03 and 07x ranges and numbers have been reassigned over time.

What are Lebanon's mobile prefixes?expand_more

03, 70, 71, 76, 78, 79 and 81, split between Alfa (MIC1) and touch (MIC2).

How do I reach a Beirut landline from overseas?expand_more

Dial +961 1, then the 6-digit subscriber number.

Which emergency numbers should I know in Lebanon?expand_more

112 for police, 175 for fire, 140 for a Red Cross ambulance, and 125 for Civil Defense.

Can a business or family member abroad get a Lebanese number?expand_more

Yes — MCM provisions local +961 virtual numbers (Beirut or national) and routes the calls wherever you are.