Country Dialing Guide

Zimbabwe country code +263 — call Zimbabwe & get a number.

A country where prices come in US dollars and Zimbabwe Gold alike, and where a huge community in the UK and South Africa keeps the lines busy — reaching +263 is worth getting right. Inside: formats from the US, UK and southern Africa, the Harare-to-Bulawayo area codes, current Econet/NetOne/Telecel prefixes, live time & weather, and how MCM gets your business a Zimbabwe number.

  • 17,500+ Businesses
  • 99.99% Uptime SLA
  • 190+ Countries
  • 4.8/5 on G2
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe · LiveAfrica/Harare
--:--:--
Harare
Bulawayo
Chitungwiza
+263
Country code
00
Exit code
16 m
People
16 m
Population
~14 million mobile connections
Active SIMs
3
Mobile operators
+263
Country code
01At a glance

Zimbabwe at a glance

The numbers and facts you need before you dial.

Country name
Republic of Zimbabwe
Country code
+263
ISO codes
ZW / ZWE
Exit code (from Zimbabwe)
00
Trunk prefix (within)
0
Capital
Harare
Largest city
Harare
Population
~16 million
Currency
Zimbabwe Gold (ZWG); US dollar widely used
Time zone
Central Africa Time (CAT), UTC+2 — no DST
Regulator
Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ)
Active SIMs
~14 million mobile connections
02The basics

What is the country code for Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe's country code is +263. Dial it after your local exit code and you'll reach any landline or mobile in the country — handy whether you're a relative in Manchester calling Harare or a supplier in Johannesburg ringing Bulawayo.

Code +263 was assigned to Zimbabwe 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.

+26300263011 26300 263

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

03Dialing format

How to call Zimbabwe from anywhere

The sequence is the same from London, Johannesburg or anywhere else: your exit code, then 263, then the area code or mobile prefix with its leading 0 dropped, then the rest of the number.

COUNTRY
+263
·
AREA
024
·
SUBSCRIBER
XXX XXXX

Full example: +263 024 XXX XXXX — drop the local leading 0 when calling from abroad.

United States & Canada
exit 011
011 + 263 + area code + number
011 263 024 XXXXXXX
United Kingdom
exit 00
00 + 263 + area code + number
00 263 024 XXXXXXX
Europe
exit 00
00 + 263 + area code + number
00 263 024 XXXXXXX
Australia
exit 0011
0011 + 263 + area code + number
0011 263 024 XXXXXXX
04Number format

Zimbabwe phone number format explained

A Zimbabwean number's national significant part is 9 digits. Landlines pair an area code (plus its prefixing digits) with a subscriber number; mobiles use a 2-digit operator code in the 7X range followed by a 7-digit subscriber number — so the first two digits after the 0 tell you which network it started on.

Landline

*

Mobile

*

05Area codes

Zimbabwe area codes — major cities

Drop the local leading 0 when calling from abroad.

// Full directory12 entries
CityRegionArea code
HarareHarare Metropolitan024
BulawayoBulawayo Metropolitan029
MutareManicaland020
GweruMidlands054
KwekweMidlands055
MasvingoMasvingo039
ChinhoyiMashonaland West067
BinduraMashonaland Central066
KadomaMashonaland West068
KaribaMashonaland West061
Victoria FallsMatabeleland North083
HwangeMatabeleland North081
06Mobile networks

Zimbabwe mobile network prefixes

The prefix after +263 tells you which network issued the SIM — though number portability means it no longer guarantees the operator.

EW

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe

codes 77 and 78. The market leader by a wide margin.

NC

NetOne Cellular

code 71. State-owned, second largest.

TZ

Telecel Zimbabwe

code 73. The smallest of the three.

07Time zone

Zimbabwe time zone

Zimbabwe runs on Central Africa Time (CAT), UTC+2, nationwide, with no daylight saving — and crucially it shares that exact clock with Johannesburg, so calls between Zimbabwe and South Africa need no time-zone maths at all.

Harare
12:00
London
10:00 (winter) / 11:00 (summer)
New York
05:00 / 06:00
Johannesburg
12:00
Dubai
13:00
Best call windows

** For a Zimbabwe business day (08:00–17:00 CAT), the UK morning (06:00–15:00 GMT) overlaps well, and South Africa is simply on the same clock — no conversion needed. From the US East Coast, aim early morning.

08Emergency

Emergency numbers in Zimbabwe

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

999
General emergency (fire / ambulance / police, fixed network)
112
Emergency from mobile networks
995
Police
994
Ambulance
993
Fire
09Avoid these

Common mistakes when calling Zimbabwe

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

Dialing an old area code

Zimbabwe renumbered, so Harare is now **024**, not the old 04. Use current codes or the call won't route.

**Keeping the leading 0** from abroad

strip it from the area code or mobile code (+263 24, not +263 024).

Picking the wrong mobile code

Econet 77/78, NetOne 71, Telecel 73; confirm before you dial.

Trusting the prefix to name the network

treat the operator code as a hint, not a guarantee.

Reaching for 911

in Zimbabwe it's 999 from a fixed line or 112 from a mobile.

10Save money

Tips to reduce the cost of calling Zimbabwe

**Hold a virtual Zimbabwe DID** so customers and family reach you at local rates.

**Route over VoIP/SIP** to cut the per-minute cost of calling between the diaspora and home.

**Call inside the UK or South Africa overlap** to steer clear of premium tariffs.

**Consolidate inbound** onto one Zimbabwe number with cloud routing rather than many international lines.

11For business

Why businesses get a Zimbabwe virtual number

In a multi-currency economy where customers weigh every transaction carefully, a local +263 number is a trust signal — and it keeps your team free to work from anywhere.

**Higher answer rates**

**Higher answer rates** — local numbers get picked up far more often than foreign ones.

**Lower trust friction**

**Lower trust friction** — a +263 line reads as a real, in-country presence.

**Cheaper inbound**

**Cheaper inbound** — Zimbabwean customers reach you at local rates.

**Centralized routing**

**Centralized routing** — forward calls to any team, in any city.

**Faster expansion**

**Faster expansion** — enter the Zimbabwe market without opening an office.

**Real PSTN presence**

**Real PSTN presence** — a genuine in-country number, not a relay.

MCMPlatform

Zimbabwe virtual numbers with My Country Mobile

My Country Mobile provisions carrier-grade Zimbabwe virtual numbers with the routing, voice quality, and security needed to connect home, the diaspora, and the wider southern-African 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

12Get started

How to get your Zimbabwe virtual number

Most businesses are live within hours, not days.

1

**Choose your city** — pick the presence you want (Harare 024, Bulawayo 029, and more).

2

**Point it where it should ring** — your SIP trunk, app, or existing PBX.

3

**Provision via portal or API** — numbers activate in minutes.

4

**Go live** — start handling Zimbabwe calls straight away.

13Related countries

Other country dialing guides

More country codes worth bookmarking.

Get a Zimbabwe virtual number with MCM

Home, the diaspora, and southern Africa — on one +263 number. Get yours today.

FAQ

Zimbabwe +263 — FAQ

Why doesn't my old Harare area code work anymore?expand_more

Zimbabwe renumbered: Harare is now **024**, not the old 04, and Bulawayo is **029**. Old codes won't route, so always use the current ones.

Which mobile code belongs to which network?expand_more

Econet 77/78, NetOne 71, Telecel 73 — though it's the original network, so treat the code as a strong hint rather than a guarantee.

How do I call a Zimbabwe mobile from the UK or South Africa?expand_more

Use your exit code (00), then 263, then the mobile without its leading 0 — e.g. 00 263 77 123 4567.

Do I drop the 0 when calling from abroad?expand_more

Yes — the leading 0 is domestic only, so it's +263 24 and +263 77, never +263 024 or +263 077.

Is there a time difference between Zimbabwe and South Africa?expand_more

No — both sit on CAT (UTC+2), so calls between Harare and Johannesburg need no conversion. Zimbabwe also skips daylight saving year-round.

What's the emergency number in Zimbabwe?expand_more

999 from a fixed line or 112 from a mobile; 995 reaches police, 994 ambulance and 993 fire.

How many digits is a Zimbabwe number?expand_more

The national significant number is 9 digits, whether landline or mobile.

Can a non-resident business get a +263 number?expand_more

Yes — MCM can provision a Zimbabwe virtual number, subject to verification, ideal for serving customers and a far-flung diaspora.