Tuvalu country code +688 — call Tuvalu & get a number.
Everything you need to dial Tuvalu correctly — country code +688, atoll-by-atoll area codes, and how a phone-numbering quirk turned into a $10M-a-year national income stream. Plus how to get a local +688 number for your business in minutes, without an office in Funafuti.
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Tuvalu at a glance
The numbers and facts you need before you dial.
What is the country code for Tuvalu?
Tuvalu is one of the smallest nations on Earth, with a population under 12,000 spread across nine coral atolls in the Pacific. A completely unrelated piece of its international telecom identity — its internet country-code suffix — now generates roughly $10 million a year for the national government.
When the International Telecommunication Union assigned country codes to the world's nations, Tuvalu received +688 for phone calls. Around the same time, in the broader system of national internet domain suffixes, Tuvalu was also assigned .tv, simply because those were the two letters that matched its name — the same logic that gives the UK ".uk" and the Philippines ".ph."
For most small nations, a domain suffix is a footnote. For Tuvalu, it became an accidental fortune. In 1998, Tuvalu began leasing .tv to commercial registrars; the first million dollars it earned went straight to paying the country's UN membership dues. In 2001, VeriSign opened .tv to much broader commercial licensing, and its value exploded as streaming and video platforms realized ".tv" was a perfect fit for their branding — today an estimated 458,000-plus websites use the domain, including Twitch. Under Tuvalu's most recent contract with GoDaddy Registry (effective 2021), the country is positioned to earn roughly $10 million a year from leasing those two letters.
Code +688 was assigned to Tuvalu 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 Tuvalu.
How to call Tuvalu from anywhere
From abroad: dial your country's international access code (011 from the US/Canada, 00 from the UK) + 688 (Tuvalu's country code) + the 5-digit local number, no leading trunk zero — e.g., 011 688 2XXXX (dialing a Funafuti number from the United States).
Within Tuvalu: domestic calls between atolls use the full 5-digit number, including the atoll's 2-digit identifying prefix, with no additional trunk code required.
The first two digits identify the atoll (20–21 for Funafuti, up to 29 for Vaitupu); the remaining three form the subscriber number.
Tuvalu phone number format explained
Tuvalu uses a compact 5-digit local number format, where the first two digits identify which of the country's atolls the number belongs to, and the remaining three digits form the local subscriber number. Each of Tuvalu's nine atolls has its own dialing code, with the exception of Funafuti (home to the capital and by far the largest population center), which uniquely has two codes assigned to it, reflecting its larger call volume. Atoll codes generally range from 20-21 (Funafuti) through 29 (Vaitupu).
Mobile prepaid services use the 90 prefix, distinguishing mobile subscribers from the atoll-based fixed-line numbering system used elsewhere in the plan.
Landline
+688 2XXXX (Funafuti) through +688 29XXX (Vaitupu) — atoll-based prefix, no separate trunk code
Mobile
+688 90XXX — prepaid mobile prefix, distinct from the atoll fixed-line ranges
Tuvalu area codes — major cities
Drop the local leading 0 when calling from abroad.
| City | Region | Area code |
|---|---|---|
| Funafuti (capital) | Funafuti Atoll | 20–21 |
| Vaitupu | Vaitupu Atoll | 29 |
Tuvalu mobile network prefixes
The prefix after +688 tells you which network issued the SIM — though number portability means it no longer guarantees the operator.
TTC (Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation)
prepaid mobile prefix, distinct from the atoll-based fixed-line numbering
Tuvalu time zone
Tuvalu operates on UTC+12 year-round, with no daylight saving time. This places it among the countries closest to the International Date Line, generally around 17-18 hours ahead of the U.S. East Coast depending on American DST status, and roughly 2 hours ahead of Australia's eastern states depending on their own DST.
For business: since Tuvalu never shifts its clocks, all seasonal variation in the gap comes from the other side — plan calls a full day in advance and confirm the exact local offset close to your call date.
Emergency numbers in Tuvalu
Free to call from any Tuvalu phone, landline or mobile.
Common mistakes when calling Tuvalu
Almost every failed international call is a formatting issue, not a network issue.
Confusing Tuvalu's phone code with its .tv internet domain
+688 is Tuvalu's ITU telephone country code; .tv is a separately assigned internet country-code domain that happens to spell out "television" — the two are related only by coming from the same broad international naming system.
Forgetting the atoll prefix identifies location, not the carrier
Unlike carrier-prefix countries, Tuvalu's first two digits identify which of the nine atolls a fixed-line number belongs to — Funafuti uniquely has two codes (20 and 21) due to its larger call volume.
Assuming Tuvalu observes daylight saving time
Tuvalu stays on a fixed UTC+12 year-round — no seasonal clock shifts to account for.
Confusing the exit code direction
00 is what's dialed from Tuvalu to reach international numbers — it isn't part of the format for calling into the country, where +688 (or 00 688 from abroad) is correct.
Tips to reduce the cost of calling Tuvalu
Remember the .tv connection as a memorable hook
Tuvalu's country code (+688) and its famous .tv domain both come from the same ITU/ICANN naming conventions, even though only the domain became a major revenue source — a useful detail for remembering Tuvalu's telecom identity.
Plan calls a day in advance given the extreme time gap
Tuvalu sits close to the International Date Line, roughly 17-18 hours ahead of the US East Coast — schedule calls the previous afternoon or evening your time.
Use the 5-digit format correctly
no leading trunk zero is used — dial the atoll's 2-digit prefix plus the 3-digit subscriber number directly.
Route calls through VoIP or an MCM virtual number rather than paying carrier international rates into +688.
Why businesses get a Tuvalu virtual number
Given Tuvalu's tiny population and remote geography, most day-to-day business runs on a small scale, and government administration is concentrated in Funafuti. The country's economy leans heavily on fishing licenses, remittances from Tuvaluans working abroad, and — notably — .tv domain licensing revenue, giving Tuvalu an unusually internet-dependent income stream for a nation of its size and level of physical infrastructure development.
Tuvalu's country code has its own smaller footnote in international telecom history: for a period, numbers beginning with 62 under the +688 country code were used to route international adult-entertainment premium-rate services, generating revenue for the country similarly to how some island nations have leased out unusual telecom or domain assets. Tuvalu later discontinued this practice for political and religious reasons, reflecting the country's strongly Christian civic culture.
Tuvalu's mobile network suffered significant damage during a major storm in 2007 and underwent a substantial reconstruction effort completed around 2009. Satellite connectivity plays a significant role in linking the atolls to the wider world.
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.
Tuvalu virtual numbers with My Country Mobile
MCM makes it simple to get a working Tuvalu +688 virtual number without setting up local infrastructure on any atoll. Provision a number, route it to your existing team or IVR anywhere in the world, and manage call handling on the same platform trusted by 17,500+ businesses with 99.99% uptime across 190+ countries.
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 Tuvalu virtual number
Most businesses are live within hours, not days.
Choose your Tuvalu number type — a +688 local virtual number suited to your use case (customer support, sales, or a dedicated line for a specific department).
Set up call routing — point the number to your existing phone system, softphone or contact center; no physical presence on any atoll required.
Configure business hours correctly — set IVR and availability windows against a fixed UTC+12, planning calls a day in advance given the extreme time gap to the US and Europe.
Go live — start receiving and making calls under your new Tuvalu number within minutes.
Other country dialing guides
More country codes worth bookmarking.
Get a Tuvalu virtual number with MCM
Sound local in Funafuti from anywhere — start your free trial and claim a +688 Tuvalu number today.
Tuvalu +688 — FAQ
What is Tuvalu's country code?expand_more
+688.
Is Tuvalu's ".tv" internet domain related to its phone country code?expand_more
Not directly, though both stem from the same broad international naming-assignment system. +688 is Tuvalu's ITU telephone country code, while .tv is its separately assigned internet country-code domain, which happens to match the abbreviation for "television" — a coincidence Tuvalu has profitably leased out to streaming and media companies worldwide.
How many digits are in a Tuvalu phone number?expand_more
5 digits, with the first two identifying the specific atoll.
Does Tuvalu observe daylight saving time?expand_more
No. Tuvalu stays on a fixed UTC+12 year-round.
How much does Tuvalu earn from the .tv domain?expand_more
Under its 2021 contract with GoDaddy Registry, Tuvalu is positioned to earn roughly $10 million a year — up from about $5 million a year under the prior VeriSign deal.
Why does Funafuti have two area codes?expand_more
Funafuti, home to the capital and by far Tuvalu's largest population center, was assigned two codes (20 and 21) to accommodate its higher call volume compared to the other atolls.
What is the emergency number in Tuvalu?expand_more
911 for general emergencies; 20006 for domestic operator and directory assistance.
How do I dial a Tuvalu number from abroad?expand_more
Dial your country's international access code (011 from the US/Canada, 00 from the UK) + 688 (Tuvalu's country code) + the 5-digit local number — no leading trunk zero is used.