Nigeria country code +234 — call Nigeria & get a number.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest phone market and home to one of the world's largest diasporas, so +234 lines get dialed from Lagos to London to Houston daily. Here's exactly how to dial it from anywhere, read the area codes and mobile prefixes, time your calls to WAT, and get a local Nigerian number with MCM.
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Nigeria at a glance
The numbers and facts you need before you dial.
What is the country code for Nigeria?
Nigeria's country code is +234, and with hundreds of millions of SIMs in circulation it's one of the most-dialed codes on the continent. From abroad, you place +234 after your own exit code to reach any Nigerian landline or mobile. At home, Nigerians dial a trunk prefix 0 ahead of the area code or mobile prefix instead — and that 0 is dropped the moment the call crosses a border.
Code +234 was assigned to Nigeria 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.
All four mean the same thing — they connect your call to Nigeria.
How to call Nigeria from anywhere
Reaching a Nigerian number is a three-part build: your exit code first, then 234, then the national number with its leading 0 stripped off.
Full example: +234 1 XXX XXXX — drop the local leading 0 when calling from abroad.
Nigeria phone number format explained
A Nigerian national number is usually 10 digits once you've taken off the trunk 0, which is why a mobile written locally (0 + 10 digits) runs to 11 digits on the page. Strip that leading 0 for any international call and the rest stays as-is.
Landline
Area code (1–3 digits) + subscriber number. Example: 0 1 234 5678 (Lagos) → +234 1 234 5678.
Mobile
Trunk 0 + 3-digit prefix (070/080/081/090/091) + 7 digits. Example: 0803 123 4567 → +234 803 123 4567.
Nigeria area codes — major cities
Drop the local leading 0 when calling from abroad.
| City | Region | Area code |
|---|---|---|
| Lagos | Lagos State | 1 |
| Abuja | Federal Capital Territory | 9 |
| Ibadan | Oyo State | 2 |
| Port Harcourt | Rivers State | 84 |
| Kano | Kano State | 64 |
| Kaduna | Kaduna State | 62 |
| Enugu | Enugu State | 42 |
| Benin City | Edo State | 52 |
| Jos | Plateau State | 73 |
| Maiduguri | Borno State | 76 |
| Aba | Abia State | 82 |
| Calabar | Cross River State | 87 |
Nigeria mobile network prefixes
The prefix after +234 tells you which network issued the SIM — though number portability means it no longer guarantees the operator.
MTN Nigeria
Globacom (Glo)
Airtel Nigeria
9mobile
Nigeria time zone
Nigeria sits on West Africa Time (WAT), UTC+1, all year with no daylight saving — one clock from Lagos to Maiduguri. That fixed offset makes it easy for the diaspora to plan: WAT stays put even when London and New York shift their clocks twice a year.
Midday to late afternoon in Lagos (roughly 12:00–17:00 WAT) catches Europe through its afternoon and the US East Coast through its morning — the easiest slot for diaspora calls home.
Common mistakes when calling Nigeria
Almost every failed international call is a formatting issue, not a network issue.
Leaving the 0 in place: +234 0803… is wrong
the trunk 0 drops the instant you add +234. This is the single most common slip on diaspora calls.
Trusting a prefix to name the network: since portability went live in 2013, an 0803 line is no longer guaranteed to be on its original carrier
Trusting a prefix to name the network: since portability went live in 2013, an 0803 line is no longer guaranteed to be on its original carrier.
Mixing up Lagos's short area code 1 with a mobile prefix
landline numbers behind a city code are shorter than mobiles.
Stacking 011 or 00 after a +: the + already stands in for your exit code, so don't add both
Stacking 011 or 00 after a +: the + already stands in for your exit code, so don't add both.
Dropping the area code on a Lagos or Abuja landline
from abroad you still need the 1 or 9 after +234.
Tips to reduce the cost of calling Nigeria
Move calls onto VoIP or a virtual Nigerian number so an international call bills as a local one
a real saver for anyone calling home often.
Skip hotel and roaming surcharges by calling over WiFi.
Cluster your calls into Nigerian business hours so you connect first time and avoid paid callbacks.
For steady contact, hold a local +234 DID so Nigerian customers or family reach you at local rates.
Why businesses get a Nigeria virtual number
With 237 million people, Africa's largest economy, and a vast diaspora that keeps money and business flowing home, a +234 line is how you earn trust in a market this size — whether your team sits in Lagos or abroad.
Stronger pickup rates
a local Nigerian caller ID gets answered where an overseas number gets ignored.
Less friction
customers and partners instantly recognize a +234 number as one of their own.
No international tariffs
your callers reach you at local rates.
One routing hub
pull Lagos, Abuja and Kano calls into a single team.
Faster entry
tap Nigeria's booming digital economy without standing up a physical office.
A real line
a genuine Nigerian landline or mobile number on the public network.
Nigeria virtual numbers with My Country Mobile
Stand up Nigerian DIDs quickly on carrier-grade infrastructure built for the continent's busiest market.
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
How to get your Nigeria virtual number
Most businesses are live within hours, not days.
Choose your Nigerian number — Lagos, Abuja or national.
Select a plan and clear quick verification.
Point calls at your team, app or PBX.
Switch it live and start taking Nigerian calls.
Other country dialing guides
More country codes worth bookmarking.
Get a Nigeria virtual number with MCM
Reach Nigeria's market with a local number and crystal-clear voice.
Nigeria +234 — FAQ
I'm in the diaspora — what's the easiest way to call home to Nigeria?expand_more
From any mobile, dial +234, then the Nigerian number without its leading 0 (e.g. +234 803 123 4567). The + works the same whether you're in the US, the UK or the Gulf.
Why does my +234 0803 number fail to connect?expand_more
Because the trunk 0 must be dropped after +234 — dial +234 803…, not +234 0803…. It's the most common diaspora dialing error.
Can I tell which network a Nigerian mobile uses from its prefix?expand_more
No. Mobile number portability has been live since 2013, so subscribers keep their number across MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9mobile.
Which prefixes belong to which carrier originally?expand_more
MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9mobile each hold spreads across the 070/080/081/090/091 ranges — see the prefix list above — but portability means the prefix is only a hint.
How do I reach a Lagos or Abuja landline from abroad?expand_more
Keep the area code after +234: Lagos is +234 1…, Abuja is +234 9…, followed by the subscriber number.
Does Nigeria change its clocks for daylight saving?expand_more
No. The whole country stays on WAT (UTC+1) all year, so the time gap to you only shifts when your own region changes clocks.
What's the right emergency number in Nigeria?expand_more
112 works nationwide for all services; 199 reaches the fire service, and Lagos also runs 767.
Can a business outside Nigeria get a real +234 number?expand_more
Yes — MCM provisions local Nigerian DIDs (Lagos, Abuja or national) and routes the calls to your team wherever it is.