Country Dialing Guide

Liberia country code +231 — call Liberia & get a number.

231 country code is Liberia's country code — a West African nation with a genuinely unique claim to timekeeping history: it was the last country in the world to adopt a standard UTC offset, holding its own unofficial time zone until 1972. Its numbering plan uses a 2-digit prefix ahead of a 6-digit subscriber number. Here's the full dialing guide, fixed GMT time with no daylight saving, and how to get a Liberia virtual number through MCM.

  • 17,500+ Businesses
  • 99.99% Uptime SLA
  • 190+ Countries
  • 4.8/5 on G2
🇱🇷 Liberia · LiveAfrica/Monrovia
--:--:--
Monrovia
Gbarnga
Buchanan
+231
Country code
00
Exit code
5.4 m
People
5.4 m
Population
Active SIMs
3
Mobile operators
+231
Country code
01At a glance

Liberia at a glance

The numbers and facts you need before you dial.

Country name
Republic of Liberia
Country code
+231
ISO codes
LR / LBR
Exit code (from Liberia)
00
Trunk prefix (within)
0 (dropped when dialing internationally)
Capital
Monrovia
Largest city
Monrovia
Population
~5.4 million
Currency
Liberian dollar (LRD) — often used alongside the US dollar
Time zone
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), UTC+0, fixed year-round — no daylight saving
Mobile network
Three operators — Orange Liberia, Lonestar Cell MTN, and Cellcom
National number length
8 digits after +231 (2-digit prefix plus 6-digit subscriber number)
02The basics

What is the country code for Liberia?

The country code for Liberia is +231. It's the international dialing prefix assigned to Liberia by the ITU, placed at the front of any Liberian number when written in full international format.

Liberia has a genuinely unusual claim to global timekeeping history: it was the last country in the world to adopt a conventional, standardized UTC time offset, only switching to Greenwich Mean Time on 7 January 1972 after generations of keeping its own idiosyncratic local mean time based on Monrovia's exact longitude.

Liberian numbers use a domestic trunk 0 that's dropped when dialing from abroad. Landlines are identified by a 2-digit prefix (21 or 22 for Monrovia), while mobile numbers run through one of three operators: Orange Liberia, Lonestar Cell MTN, or Cellcom.

If you only remember one thing: Liberia was the last country on Earth to standardize its time zone. It kept its own unique local offset until 1972 — a fact that surprises most people who assume every country adopted GMT-based zones long ago.

+23100231011 23100 231

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

03Dialing format

How to call Liberia from anywhere

Calling Liberia from abroad is a three-part sequence: your exit code, then 231, then the area or mobile prefix and subscriber number, with the domestic trunk 0 dropped. From the US: 011 231 21 XX XXXX. From the UK/EU: 00 231 77 XX XXXX.

COUNTRY
+231
·
AREA
21/22
·
SUBSCRIBER
XXX XXXX

Full example: +231 21 XX XXXX — a Monrovia landline, country code plus area prefix plus subscriber number.

United States & Canada
exit 011
011 + 231 + area code + number
011 231 21/22 XXXXXXX
United Kingdom
exit 00
00 + 231 + area code + number
00 231 21/22 XXXXXXX
Europe
exit 00
00 + 231 + area code + number
00 231 21/22 XXXXXXX
Australia
exit 0011
0011 + 231 + area code + number
0011 231 21/22 XXXXXXX
04Number format

Liberia phone number format explained

A Liberian number is built from +231, a domestic-only trunk 0 (dropped internationally), and an 8-digit national number consisting of a 2-digit area or mobile prefix plus a 6-digit subscriber number. Landline prefixes (21, 22) are used in Monrovia, while mobile numbers use prefixes like 77 (Orange), 88 and 555 (Lonestar Cell MTN), and additional ranges for Cellcom.

Landline

Area prefix (21/22 Monrovia) + 6-digit subscriber number.

Mobile

Operator prefix (77 Orange, 88/555 Lonestar Cell MTN, additional ranges for Cellcom) + subscriber number, all under +231.

05Area codes

Liberia area codes — major cities

Drop the local leading 0 when calling from abroad.

// Full directory1 entries
CityRegionArea code
MonroviaMontserrado County21/22
06Mobile networks

Liberia mobile network prefixes

The prefix after +231 tells you which network issued the SIM — though number portability means it no longer guarantees the operator.

OL

Orange Liberia

+231 77

One of Liberia's two major mobile network operators.

LC

Lonestar Cell MTN

+231 88, 555

One of Liberia's two major mobile network operators, part of the pan-African MTN Group.

C

Cellcom

+231 Additional operator prefixes

A smaller mobile operator alongside Orange and Lonestar Cell MTN.

07Time zone

Liberia time zone

Liberia keeps Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, UTC+0) year-round, with no daylight saving. This is a relatively modern arrangement: Liberia only adopted GMT on 7 January 1972, having kept its own local mean time (based on Monrovia's exact geographic meridian) for generations before that — making it the last country in the world to standardize its time zone.

Because Liberia never shifts but the US and UK do, the practical gap to your location changes only when your own clock moves — Liberia's side of the calculation stays constant year-round.

London (GMT/BST)
Same time (winter) / 1 hour behind (UK summer)
New York (EST/EDT)
5 hours ahead (winter) / 4 hours ahead (US summer)
Los Angeles (PST/PDT)
8 hours ahead (winter) / 7 hours ahead (US summer)
Accra / Dakar (GMT)
Same time year-round
Best call windows
Liberia's business day (roughly 9:00 AM–5:00 PM GMT) overlaps almost entirely with a UK working day in winter, and a US East Coast morning-to-midday window.
Best call windows

Since Liberia keeps a fixed UTC+0 offset with no daylight saving, UK callers get an exact clock match during UK winter, while US callers should aim for their morning to catch the Liberian afternoon.

Open the interactive best-time-to-call planner
08Emergency

Emergency numbers in Liberia

Free to call from any Liberia phone, landline or mobile.

911
Emergency services (commonly cited — verify current line locally)
09Avoid these

Common mistakes when calling Liberia

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

Assuming Liberia has always used GMT

It hasn't — Liberia kept its own idiosyncratic offset (Monrovia Mean Time, roughly UTC-0:44:30) until 7 January 1972, making it the last country in the world to standardize to a conventional UTC offset.

Keeping the trunk 0 when dialing internationally

The leading 0 is domestic-only — a Monrovia landline is +231 21 XX XXXX, never +231 021.

Assuming Liberia observes daylight saving

It doesn't — Liberia stays on GMT (UTC+0) all year, so the gap to the US or UK shifts only when their own clocks change, not Liberia's.

Assuming a single mobile operator

Liberia's mobile market is served by three private operators (Orange, Lonestar Cell MTN, Cellcom) rather than a state monopoly.

Confusing Liberia with Libya

The names look similar in shorthand, but they are entirely different countries on different continents with different codes — Liberia is +231, Libya is +218.

10Save money

Tips to reduce the cost of calling Liberia

Drop the leading 0 internationally

A Monrovia number written locally as 021 XX XXXX becomes +231 21 XX XXXX from abroad.

Time calls to the GMT business day

Liberia shares its clock with the UK during UK winter, and much of coastal West Africa year-round — a straightforward reference point for scheduling.

Route calls over VoIP or a virtual number

Legacy carrier international rates into Liberia can be steep; cloud-routed calling typically costs materially less.

Confirm which currency a quote uses

Liberia commonly uses both the Liberian dollar and the US dollar in everyday transactions — clarify which currency any pricing or invoice refers to.

11For business

Why businesses get a Liberia virtual number

Liberia's economy centers heavily on iron ore and rubber exports, alongside a shipping-registry sector (Liberia has one of the world's largest ship registries by tonnage) and significant international development activity following past periods of civil conflict. A +231 virtual number gives a business a local presence for trade, shipping, or development-sector coordination without opening a physical office in Monrovia.

Higher answer rates

A familiar +231 caller ID gets picked up more readily than an unfamiliar international number.

Support shipping-registry and trade sectors

Liberia's large ship registry and export economy drive significant international business communication.

Cheaper inbound for local callers

Callers in Liberia reach your line at local rates instead of international charges.

Centralized routing

Calls to your +231 number route to any team, anywhere in the world.

Faster market entry

Stand up a Liberian presence without opening a local entity.

Real PSTN presence

A genuine, dialable Liberia number on the public telephone network.

MCMPlatform

Liberia virtual numbers with My Country Mobile

My Country Mobile provisions virtual numbers across 190+ countries with a 99.99% uptime SLA. Availability of local Liberia (+231) numbers, and the specific number types and documentation required, depends on current inventory and regulatory requirements — contact our team with your use case and we'll confirm what can be provisioned.

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 Liberia virtual number

Most businesses are live within hours, not days.

1

Contact our team with your use case — Liberia availability is checked case by case against current +231 inventory.

2

We'll confirm what number types and routing options can be provisioned for your specific need.

3

Configure routing — point the number at a mobile, SIP trunk, softphone, PBX, or IVR anywhere in the world.

4

Go live — where a +231 isn't directly available, we'll propose the closest working alternative matched to your use case.

13Related countries

Other country dialing guides

More country codes worth bookmarking.

Get a Liberia virtual number with MCM

Talk to MCM about Liberia and wider West African coverage — we'll check current +231 availability against your specific use case.

FAQ

Liberia +231 — FAQ

What country is the 231 country code?expand_more

+231 is Liberia's country code — a West African nation founded in the 19th century by freed and free-born African Americans, with a capital, Monrovia, named after US President James Monroe.

What is the country code for Liberia?expand_more

+231. Dial it after your exit code, followed by the area or mobile prefix and subscriber number, dropping any leading 0.

Do I drop the 0 when calling Liberia?expand_more

Yes — the leading 0 is a domestic trunk prefix, dropped when dialing from outside Liberia, right after +231.

What time zone is Liberia in?expand_more

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, UTC+0), year-round. Liberia does not observe daylight saving.

Did Liberia always use GMT?expand_more

No — Liberia kept its own unique local time offset (roughly UTC-0:44:30) until 7 January 1972, making it the last country in the world to adopt a conventional, standardized UTC offset.

Who provides mobile service in Liberia?expand_more

Three operators — Orange Liberia, Lonestar Cell MTN, and Cellcom — with no state-run monopoly.

What is the area code for Monrovia?expand_more

21 or 22. A landline in the capital is dialed internationally as +231 21 XX XXXX.

What currency is used in Liberia?expand_more

The Liberian dollar (LRD), commonly used alongside the US dollar in everyday transactions.

How do I call Liberia from the US?expand_more

Dial 011, then 231, then the area or mobile prefix and subscriber number, dropping any leading 0.

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

Availability of local +231 numbers depends on current inventory and regulatory requirements — contact My Country Mobile's team with your specific use case to confirm what can be provisioned.