# Telephone numbers in South Africa

South Africa switched to a closed numbering system effective 16 January 2007. At that time, it became mandatory to dial the full 10-digit telephone number, including the zero in the three-digit area code, for local calls (e.g., 011 must be dialed from within Johannesburg). Area codes within the system are generally organized geographically. All telephone numbers are 9 digits long (but always prefixed by 0 for calls within South Africa), except for certain Telkom special services. When dialed from another country, the "0" is omitted and replaced with the appropriate international access code and the country code +27.

## Background
### History

Numbers were allocated when South Africa had only four provinces, meaning that ranges are now split across the current nine provinces.

### Namibia

South-West Africa (including Walvis Bay) was integrated into the South African numbering plan. However, the territory had already been allocated its own country code by the International Telecommunication Union, +264, in the late 1960s.
Following its independence, Namibia discontinued direct dialing from South Africa and replaced it with international dialing using the +264 country code. For example, for a call from South Africa to Windhoek, before and after 1992:
    Before 1992: 061 xxx xxxx
    After 1992: 09 26461 xxx xxxx
    After January 2007: 00 26461 xxx xxxx

### Lesotho

Calls to Lesotho could be made using the access code 050 instead of the international code +266; for example, to call Maseru from South Africa, subscribers would dial 0501.

### Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe

Calls to Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe could similarly be made using the regional codes 0192, 0194 and 0191, respectively, instead of the international codes +267, +268 and +263.

## Number ranges
### 00

International access code effective from 16 October 2006 and mandatory from 16 January 2007.

### 01

The old Transvaal province, currently comprising Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and part of the North West:
    010: New overlay plan for Johannesburg
    011: Witwatersrand region around Johannesburg, currently code for the entirety of Greater Johannesburg
    012: Pretoria and surrounding towns (also includes Brits)
    013: Eastern Gauteng (Bronkhorstspruit) and Western and northern Mpumalanga: Middelburg, Witbank and Nelspruit
    014: Northern North West and Southwestern Limpopo: Rustenburg and Modimolle
    015: Northern and Eastern Limpopo: Polokwane
    016: Vaal Triangle: Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg, which constitutes an anomaly, since Sasolburg isn't the old Transvaal.
    017: Southern Mpumalanga: Ermelo
    018: Southern North West: Mahikeng, Lichtenburg, Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp

### 02

Western and Northern Cape:
    021: Cape Town metropole and surrounds, including Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Gordon's Bay
    022: Boland and West Coast: Malmesbury
    023: Worcester and greater Karoo, including Beaufort West
    027: Namaqualand (Northern Cape): Vredendal, Calvinia, Clanwilliam, Springbok, Alexander Bay, Port Nolloth
    028: Southern region: Swellendam and Caledon / Hermanus region.

### 03

KwaZulu-Natal:
    031: Durban
    032: KZN North coast region: Verulam, Tongaat, Ballito and Stanger
    033: Pietermaritzburg and KwaZulu-Natal Midlands
    034: Vryheid, Newcastle and Northern KZN
    035: Zululand region: St. Lucia, Richards Bay, Ulundi
    036: Drakensberg region: Ladysmith
    039: KwaZulu-Natal South Coast region: Port Shepstone and interior, and Eastern Pondoland (in Eastern Cape)

### 04

Eastern Cape and eastern parts of the Western Cape:
    040: Bhisho
    041: Gqeberha and Uitenhage
    042: Southern region: Humansdorp
    043: East London and surrounds
    044: Garden Route, including Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Mossel Bay and George
    045: Central region: Queenstown
    046: Southern region: Grahamstown, Bathurst, Port Alfred, Kenton-on-Sea
    047: Mthatha / most of previous Transkei
    048: Northern region: Steynsburg
    049: Western region: Graaff-Reinet

### 05

Free State and Northern Cape
    051: Central and southern region: Bloemfontein, and Aliwal North in E Cape
    053: Kimberley, eastern part of Northern Cape, far west of NW province
    054: Upington, Gordonia region
    056: Northern Free State: Kroonstad
    057: Northern Free State: Welkom (Goldfields region)
    058: Eastern Free State: Bethlehem

### 06 (Cellular)

Cellular
    0600: Cellular: Used by Liquid Telecommunications (South Africa)
    0601 - 0602: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
    0603 - 0605: Cellular: Used by MTN
    0606 - 0609: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
    061: Cellular: Used by Cell C
    062: Cellular: Used by Cell C
    0630 - 0635: Cellular: Used by MTN
    0636 - 0637: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
    0640: Cellular: Used by MTN
    0641 - 0645: Cellular: Used by Cell C
    0646 - 0649: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
    0650 - 0654: Cellular: Used by Cell C
    0655 - 0657: Cellular: Used by MTN
    0658 - 0659: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
    066: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
    0670 - 0672: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA
    0673 - 0675: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
    0676 - 0679: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
    0680 - 0685: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
    0686 - 0689: Cellular: Used by MTN
    0690: Cellular: Used by MTN
    0691 - 0699: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)

### 07 (Cellular)

    0710: Cellular: Used by MTN
    0711 - 0716: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
    0717 - 0719: Cellular: Used by MTN
    072: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
    073: Cellular: Used by MTN
    074: Cellular: Used by Cell C
    0741: Cellular: Used by: Virgin Mobile as of June 2006 to September 2021
    076: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
    0771 - 0775: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
    078: Cellular: Used by MTN
    079: Cellular: Used by Vodacom

### 08
#### Cellular

    0810: Cellular: Used by MTN
    0811 - 0815: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
    0816: Cellular: Used by Rain
    0817: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
    0818: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
    0819: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
    082: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
    083: Cellular: Used by MTN
    084: Cellular: Used by Cell C

#### Special Services

    080: FreeCall, Toll-free, called party pays
    085: Cellular: USAL license holders - Vodacom and MTN have some prefixes out of this range for their USAL offerings
    086: Sharecall, MaxiCall and premium-rate services, calls can be routed to regional offices automatically
    0860: Sharecall Land line callers pay local call, called party pays long distance if applicable
    0861: MaxiCall caller always pay long distance for call even if routed to local office
    0862 - 9: Premium rate caller pays increasing rate linked to last digit
    0862, 0865, 0866, 08673, 08774, 08676: Fax to Email caller always pay increasing rate linked to last digits
    08622, 086294: Competition lines caller always pay premium rate
    08671 - 08674: Information services caller always pay increasing rate linked to last digit
    087: Value-added services (VoIP among others)
    088: Fax Divert, Pagers and Telkom CallAnswer voicemail
    089: Maxinet, for polls and radio call-in services
Note that from 10 November 2006, mobile number portability was introduced in the cellular market. The cellular prefixes as above are therefore not strictly applicable anymore, although they remain mostly unchanged.

### 09X XXX XXX (Premium-rate and machine-related numbers)

    090: Premium-rate services
    0902: Premium-rated adult services
    091: Premium-rate services
    092: Premium-rate services
    096: Machine-related services (14-digit numbers)
    097: Machine-related services (14-digit numbers)
    098: Machine-related services (14-digit numbers)
There are still some non-automated exchanges which use longer dialing codes, mostly for "farm lines" and remote areas with operator-assisted exchanges.
09X XXX XXXX numbers are no longer in use in South Africa.