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Ethiopia country code +251 — call Ethiopia & get a number.
A market of 130 million that spent decades behind a single state operator is now opening to competition — and reaching it cleanly matters. Here you'll find the exact way to dial +251 from the US, UK or across Africa, both the old Ethio telecom and new Safaricom prefixes, live time and weather, and how to claim an Ethiopia virtual number with MCM.
- Más de 17,500 empresas
- 99,99% de tiempo de actividad SLA
- Más de 190 países
- 4,8/5 en G2
Ethiopia at a glance
Los números y datos que necesita antes de marcar.
What is the country code for Ethiopia?
Ethiopia's country code is +251. Add it after your exit code and you'll reach any landline or mobile in the country. Domestically, numbers carry a leading trunk 0 — Addis Ababa's lines run on 011, for instance — but that 0 is purely a local convention. Calling in from another country, you drop it and dial +251 followed by the rest.
In E.164 international format an Ethiopian number is written +251 XX XXX XXXX. The "+" stands for your local international access code.
Los cuatro significan lo mismo: conectan su llamada a Ethiopia.
How to call Ethiopia from anywhere
Three steps: your exit code, then 251, then the national number with the leading 0 stripped off. That 0 only ever belongs to a call placed inside Ethiopia.
Ejemplo completo: +251 011 XXXXXXX — elimine el 0 inicial local cuando llame desde el extranjero.
Ethiopia phone number format explained
Ethiopia runs a tidy closed plan: nine national digits, a trunk 0 for domestic calls, and the two digits after that 0 acting as either the area code (on landlines) or the mobile prefix.
Landline
Trunk 0 + 2-digit area code + 7-digit number, as in 011 123 4567 for Addis Ababa. Abroad it reads +251 11 123 4567, the 0 removed.
Mobile
0 + prefix + number across nine national digits. Ethio telecom lines sit in 09X XXX XXXX (e.g., 091 123 4567); newcomer Safaricom uses 07X XXX XXXX — an easy way to spot which network a number came from. Internationally: +251 9X ... or +251 7X ..., 0 dropped.
Ethiopia area codes — major cities
Elimina el 0 inicial local cuando llames desde el extranjero.
| Ciudad | Región | Código de área |
|---|---|---|
| Addis Ababa | Addis Ababa | 011 |
| Adama (Nazret) | Oromia (South-East) | 022 |
| Dessie | Amhara (North-East) | 033 |
| Mekelle | Tigray (North) | 034 |
| Dire Dawa | Dire Dawa (East) | 025 |
| Harar | Harari (East) | 025 |
| Hawassa | Sidama (South) | 046 |
| Shashamane | Oromia (South) | 046 |
| Jimma | Oromia (South-West) | 047 |
| Nekemte | Oromia (West) | 057 |
| Bahir Dar | Amhara (North-West) | 058 |
| Gondar | Amhara (North-West) | 058 |
Ethiopia mobile network prefixes
The prefix after +251 tells you which network issued the SIM — though number portability means it no longer guarantees the operator.
Ethio telecom
mobiles start with **09X** (e.g., 091 123 4567; +251 91 123 4567). The state incumbent and largest operator.
Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia
mobiles start with **07X** (e.g., 074 123 4567; +251 74 123 4567). Launched commercially in 2022 as the first private competitor.
Ethiopia time zone
Ethiopia stays on East Africa Time (EAT), UTC+3, year-round, with no daylight saving to track. One local wrinkle worth knowing: many Ethiopians also keep a traditional "Ethiopian time" that counts the hours from dawn rather than from midnight — and the country follows its own calendar too, currently running several years behind the Gregorian one. For booking calls, though, everyone works to standard EAT.
Ethiopian offices run Monday to Friday, around 08:30–17:00 EAT. Reach them early morning from the US East Coast, late morning from the UK, and across the working day from the Gulf or East Africa. If someone quotes you a meeting time in dawn-based local hours, confirm it back in EAT to avoid a six-hour miss.
Abra el planificador interactivo del mejor momento para llamarEmergency numbers in Ethiopia
Free to call from any Ethiopia phone, landline or mobile.
Common mistakes when calling Ethiopia
Casi todas las llamadas internacionales fallidas se deben a un problema de formato, no a un problema de red.
**Taking a time quoted in local "Ethiopian time" at face value.** Ethiopia commonly counts hours from dawn, so "two o'clock" can mean 8 a.m. by your clock
and the local calendar runs years behind the Gregorian one. Always confirm a call time back in EAT (UTC+3).
**Leaving the trunk 0 on an international call
**Leaving the trunk 0 on an international call.** +251 011 ... or +251 091 ... is wrong; strip the 0 to get +251 11 ... and +251 91 ...
**Dropping the 0 when calling domestically.** Inside Ethiopia the trunk 0 is required
Addis Ababa is 011, not 11.
**Reaching for old single-digit area codes.** The 2005 renumbering made Addis Ababa 011, not the old "1"
use the current two-digit codes.
**Expecting one unified emergency line
**Expecting one unified emergency line.** Ethiopia has no single 112/911; dial 991 for police, 907 for ambulance, 939 for fire.
Tips to reduce the cost of calling Ethiopia
**Give callers a local +251 line
**Give callers a local +251 line.** An Ethiopia DID lets people dial a domestic number while your team answers over the internet from anywhere.
**Terminate over VoIP
**Terminate over VoIP.** Traditional PSTN routes into Ethiopia run expensive; SIP/VoIP brings the per-minute cost right down.
**Cut out roaming and hotel phones
**Cut out roaming and hotel phones.** A VoIP app or local DID beats premium roaming and hotel surcharges.
**Group your African numbers
**Group your African numbers.** Holding Ethiopia alongside your other regional DIDs on MCM earns better blended rates.
Why businesses get a Ethiopia virtual number
With 130 million people, Ethiopia is Africa's second most populous country — and one whose telecom market is only now opening to outside competition. A +251 number lets you reach into it without a physical office in Addis Ababa.
**Higher answer rates
** A local Ethiopian number gets picked up far more than an unknown foreign caller ID.
**Lower trust friction
** A familiar +251 line signals a real, reachable presence in a fast-changing market.
**Cheaper inbound
** Customers reach you on a domestic number and skip international charges.
**Centralized routing
** Direct Ethiopia calls to any team, in any time zone.
**Faster expansion
** Be present in Ethiopia within minutes — no SIM cards, no local entity.
**Real PSTN presence
** A genuine Ethiopian DID on the national network, not a forwarding hack.
Ethiopia números virtuales con Mi País Móvil
My Country Mobile runs Ethiopia virtual numbers on a carrier-grade global backbone built for uptime and scale. Provision +251 DIDs, route them to your team anywhere, and manage it all from a single dashboard and API.
DID locales en los principales códigos de área: aprovisionados en minutos
Desvío de llamadas a cualquier teléfono móvil, fijo, terminal SIP o softphone en todo el mundo
Voz HD con G.711, G.729, Opus y AMR-WB: negociación automática por llamada
Latencia inferior a 150 ms en los principales corredores de voz a través de PoP distribuidos
SLA de tiempo de actividad del 99,99 % respaldado por infraestructura con redundancia geográfica y conmutación por error sub-2
Compatibilidad con WebRTC para llamadas basadas en navegador sin instalaciones de softphone
API REST para aprovisionamiento, enrutamiento y registros de detalles de llamadas (CDR)
Protección contra fraude incorporada con detección de anomalías por IA y AGITACIÓN/AGITACIÓN
Monitoreo de red 24 horas al día, 7 días a la semana y soporte dedicado
How to get your Ethiopia virtual number
Most businesses are live within hours, not days.
Pick Ethiopia (+251) and choose an available local number.
Select a plan and clear the quick verification.
Route the line where it belongs — SIP, app, mobile or your call center.
Turn it on and start taking Ethiopian calls within minutes.
Other country dialing guides
More country codes worth bookmarking.
Get a Ethiopia virtual number with MCM
Grab a +251 number, route it to your team anywhere, and sound Ethiopian from the very first call. You can be live in minutes with My Country Mobile. -
Ethiopia +251 — FAQ
Can I tell Ethio telecom and Safaricom apart from the number?expand_more
Largely yes — Ethio telecom mobiles open with 09X and Safaricom, the new private entrant, uses 07X. It's a quick way to see which network a number rides.
Why does an Ethiopian time quoted to me feel six hours off?expand_more
Many Ethiopians count hours from dawn in traditional "Ethiopian time," and the country uses its own calendar that runs years behind the Gregorian. For calls, always confirm the slot in standard EAT (UTC+3).
Do I drop the leading 0 when calling Ethiopia?expand_more
Yes — the trunk 0 is domestic-only. From abroad it's +251 followed by the number with the 0 removed.
What's Addis Ababa's area code?expand_more
011 inside Ethiopia, which becomes +251 11 once you drop the 0 for an international call.
How do I call Ethiopia from the US or UK?expand_more
From the US, 011 + 251 + the number minus its 0 (e.g., 011 251 11 123 4567). From the UK, 00 + 251 + the number without the 0.
How long is an Ethiopian phone number?expand_more
Nine digits nationally, after the +251 country code.
Does Ethiopia change its clocks for daylight saving?expand_more
No. It holds East Africa Time (EAT, UTC+3) all year, so the offset to you is fixed.
Can I get an Ethiopian number without a local company?expand_more
Yes. MCM issues +251 DIDs you can route anywhere, with no Ethiopian entity or SIM — set up in minutes.