Whether you are checking on a mother in Mwanza, confirming a mobile money transfer to Dar es Salaam, or booking a lodge near Arusha, calling Tanzania almost always means dialing a mobile on one of five networks, because nearly every working line in the country is a phone in someone's pocket.
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Rates updated October 31, 2026
To reach a Tanzania number from the United States, dial these three parts in order.
011 255 621 234 567
From any mobile, anywhere in the world, you can dial +255 621 234 567 instead. Press and hold 0 to type the +, and the phone picks the right access code for wherever you are.
Numbers in Tanzania are written locally with a 0 in front, like 0621 234 567. Calling from abroad you leave that 0 out, so it becomes +255 621 234 567.
A Tanzania mobile number is 9 digits after +255. If a call does not connect, count the digits first.
Only the first part changes. Your access code replaces the 011, then 255 and the number stay exactly the same.
A ~ means wait for the second dial tone before dialing the rest. It is not a digit you press.
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The US corridor is modest in size and unusually scattered. The 2024 American Community Survey counts about 45,700 Tanzania-born residents in the United States - US Census Bureau. Unlike many diasporas they do not cluster in one city: the five-year estimates put the largest state totals in Texas, Florida, California, Illinois and Maryland, and the biggest county communities in Montgomery County, Maryland (the Washington suburbs), Harris County, Texas (Houston), Kent County, Michigan (Grand Rapids) and Warren County, Kentucky (Bowling Green) - US Census Bureau. A typical call into Tanzania comes from a worker in Houston, a student in Chicago or a family in suburban Maryland, ringing a relative's 07x mobile in Dar es Salaam, Arusha or Mwanza.
Most Tanzanians abroad actually live in the region, which shapes the busiest inbound lanes. The UN counts the largest Tanzania-born communities in Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Uganda, followed by Canada and Oman - UN DESA. Money travels the same routes: Tanzania received about US$1.12 billion in personal remittances in 2024 - World Bank, and with 87 million mobile money accounts in the country - TanzaniaInvest, a call home often doubles as a check that a transfer has landed. Travelers add a steady business stream to safari operators around Arusha and Kilimanjaro (027) and hotels on Zanzibar (024); given how few landlines survive, expect many of those businesses to answer on a mobile number.
People in Tanzania dial 000 before a country code to call abroad, the international prefix listed for Tanzania by the ITU - ITU. A relative in Dar es Salaam calling a US number therefore dials 000 1 and then the 10 digits, while on a mobile most people simply save numbers with a + and let the phone supply the prefix. Tanzania also keeps a regional shortcut from the days when Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda shared one numbering plan, which lasted until 1999 - Telephone numbers in Tanzania, Wikipedia. The same ITU list notes that between the three countries the national number is prefixed with 005 for Kenya, 006 for Uganda and 007 for Tanzania.
The busiest outbound lanes follow family and trade across the borders: Kenya (+254) and Uganda (+256), then Rwanda (+250) and Burundi (+257), where tens of thousands of Tanzania-born people live - UN DESA, plus Oman (+968) in the Gulf and the diaspora in North America and Europe. None of this changes how you call in. From the US you always use +255, never 007, which is a code for callers inside Kenya and Uganda.
Dial the US exit code 011, or press + if you are on a mobile or using a browser dialer.
Enter Tanzania's country code, 255.
Drop the leading 0 from the local number: 0621 234 567 becomes 621 234 567, and a Dar es Salaam landline written 022 xxx xxxx becomes 22 xxx xxxx.
Dial the remaining 9 digits, for a complete number of +255 621 234 567 (011 255 621 234 567 from a US landline).
Always drop the trunk 0. A number written locally as 0621 234 567 is dialed as +255 621 234 567; keeping the 0 sends 10 digits where the network expects 9. Every standard Tanzanian number, mobile or landline, mainland or Zanzibar, is 9 digits after +255. Ignore the East African shortcuts 005, 006 and 007, which only apply between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda - ITU. Numbers beginning 0800 are national toll-free lines and 090x numbers are premium services - ITU, both built for callers inside Tanzania, so look for an organization's regular 022 or mobile number instead.
The number you have may belong to a SIM that was switched off. Tanzania made biometric SIM registration mandatory: fingerprint registration against the national ID began on 1 May 2019, and when the extended deadline passed in January 2020 only 28.4 million of 48.8 million active SIMs had been registered, with millions switched off - The Citizen. A second sweep in early 2023 required users to verify every line registered to their national ID, checked by dialing *106#, or lose the unverified ones - Biometric Update. If an old number for a relative rings dead or plays a network announcement, a lapsed registration is a likely reason. Ask for their current line.
Many Tanzanians carry more than one SIM. The country counted about 117 million telecom subscriptions in June 2026, and the regulator's figures do not mean 117 million users, because many people hold more than one SIM - Daily News. So if one number is switched off or out of coverage, ask whether the person has a second line on another network before assuming they are unreachable.
Phone fraud makes people wary of unknown callers. Tanzanians know the "tuma kwa namba hii" ("send it to this number") scam, in which fraudsters message or call claiming money was sent by mistake or that a relative needs urgent help - African Arguments. The regulator identified 7,334 mobile lines used for fraud in April to June 2026 alone - The Citizen, and the town of Ifakara logged 1,781 attempted frauds that quarter, the most in the country, by callers locals call "Halo Halo" - Daily News. An unfamiliar +1 number can look like one more trick, so send an SMS or WhatsApp message first saying who you are.
Landlines are close to extinct. Only 101,369 fixed subscriptions remained in June 2026, against 116.85 million mobile ones - TanzaniaInvest. An old 022 number for a bank branch, school or government office may no longer ring at all, so check the organization's current website for a working number before you rely on it.
Every ordinary Tanzanian number is a 9-digit national number behind +255, the minimum length in the regulator's latest filing with the ITU. Written at home, a trunk 0 goes in front, so a mobile looks like 0754 123 456 and a Dar es Salaam landline like 022 2xx xxxx. The only longer numbers are 12-digit machine-to-machine ranges beginning 300, which connect devices rather than people - ITU.
Landline codes are regional, not city codes. 022 covers Dar es Salaam Region; 023 Pwani (Coast), Morogoro, Lindi and Mtwara; 024 Zanzibar, both Unguja and Pemba; 025 Mbeya, Songwe, Ruvuma, Katavi and Rukwa; 026 Dodoma, Iringa, Njombe, Singida and Tabora; 027 Arusha, Manyara, Kilimanjaro and Tanga; and 028 the northwest, from Mwanza and Mara to Kagera and Kigoma - ITU. So a 026 number could be a ministry in the capital, Dodoma, or a school in Tabora, hundreds of kilometers away.
Mobile numbers are filed as non-geographic "Find Me Anywhere" numbers beginning 6 or 7, which means the prefix tells you the network, never the town. The rest of the plan is easy to recognize: 41 is reserved for VoIP services, 800 for national toll-free lines, 808 for international services and 90x for premium-rate services - TCRA filing with the ITU. If a number you were given starts with 8 or 9 after the 0, it is a service line, not a person.
Five networks share the market. In June 2026 Vodacom held 33 percent of subscriptions, Yas 28.6 percent, Airtel 20.5 percent, Halotel 16.4 percent and the state-owned TTCL 1.5 percent - Daily News. No single network dominates, so the relatives you call may well be spread across three or four different networks.
The regulator's filing maps each prefix to its operator: Vodacom holds 66, 74, 75 and 76; Honora Tanzania, which trades as Yas, holds 65, 67, 71 and 77; Airtel holds 68, 69 and 78; Viettel, trading as Halotel, holds 61 and 62; and TTCL holds 73 - ITU. Written locally, each of these gains a leading 0, so a Vodacom customer's number reads 0754 or 0764 and a Halotel customer's 0621.
The names have changed more than the numbers. Tigo merged with Zanzibar's operator Zantel in 2019 - The Citizen, and after Axian Telecom and Tanzanian businessman Rostam Aziz bought Tigo and Zantel in 2022, Tigo rebranded as Yas in November 2024, with Tigo Pesa renamed Mixx by Yas - The Citizen. Existing SIM cards keep working, and phones simply show "Yas" where they used to show "Tigo". A relative who says they are "on Tigo" has a Yas line, dialed exactly as before.
Zanzibar is part of the United Republic of Tanzania, so it shares the +255 country code and the same UTC+3 clock as the mainland. Its landlines carry code 024 for both Unguja and Pemba - ITU, while mobiles on the islands are ordinary national 06x and 07x numbers. The capital, Dodoma, is on 026, and the commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, is the largest city. For the safari circuit, lodges and operators around Arusha, Moshi and the Kilimanjaro foothills sit under 027, and the Lake Victoria cities of Mwanza and Musoma under 028.
Tanzania's short emergency codes include some you will not see elsewhere. Alongside 112 for police emergencies, 114 for fire and 115 for ambulances, the plan sets aside 110 for emergencies on Lake Victoria and other water bodies and 118 for safety in national parks and game reserves, plus 116 as a child helpline - Telephone numbers in Tanzania, Wikipedia.
None of these short codes can be dialed from the United States. They only work from a phone inside Tanzania, so if a traveler or relative needs help, call their own mobile or the lodge's full +255 number and ask someone on the ground to dial the local code.
In Tanzania a phone number is also a wallet. The country had 87.05 million mobile money accounts in June 2026, up 7.5 percent in a single quarter - TanzaniaInvest. Vodacom runs M-Pesa here, the same platform that started in Kenya, and had already opened 7 million Tanzanian accounts by 2016 - M-Pesa, Wikipedia, while Yas customers use Mixx by Yas. Because wallets are tied to the SIM, calls from abroad often turn to money: which number to send to, and whether it arrived.
The regulator gives ordinary users two tools worth passing on to relatives. Dialing *106# lists every line registered under their national ID, so they can spot any line in their name that they do not recognize - Biometric Update, and suspicious numbers can be reported by free SMS to 15040 - Daily News. Public campaigns such as "Futa! Delete! Kabisa" urge people to delete fraudulent messages, and operators warn customers never to share one-time passwords - The Citizen.
The practical rule for anyone calling from abroad: a real relative never needs a PIN or code read out over the phone, and a message saying money was "sent by mistake" should be checked in the wallet menu itself, never trusted from an SMS. Saying this once, early in a call, protects the people you ring most.
Tanzania's country code is +255. Numbers are written locally with a leading 0, which you drop when dialing from abroad: 0754 123 456 becomes +255 754 123 456, or 011 255 754 123 456 from a US landline - Telephone numbers in Tanzania, Wikipedia. What remains is always 9 digits. The same rule applies to Zanzibar, which shares the +255 code.
Nine digits after +255 for every ordinary mobile and landline, or ten when written locally with the 0 - ITU. Mobiles start with 6 or 7 after the country code and landlines with 22 to 28. If you count ten digits after the country code, the trunk 0 is still in; if you count eight, a digit is missing. Only machine-to-machine ranges run longer, and those do not belong to people.
Tanzania uses East Africa Time (UTC+3) all year with no daylight saving - Time in Tanzania, Wikipedia. That makes it 7 hours ahead of US Eastern and 10 ahead of Pacific while US daylight saving time is in effect, which in 2026 runs from 8 March to 1 November, and 8 and 11 hours ahead the rest of the year. Noon in New York is 7pm or 8pm in Dar es Salaam.
Yes. Tigo Tanzania rebranded as Yas in November 2024, and Tigo Pesa became Mixx by Yas. Existing SIM cards keep working, and phones simply show "Yas" where they used to show "Tigo" - Yas. The number itself is unchanged, so an 065, 067, 071 or 077 number is dialed exactly as before: +255 followed by the 9 digits without the 0.
Check three things. First, the digit count: exactly 9 digits after +255, with the local 0 removed. Second, the SIM itself: Tanzania switched off millions of SIMs that were not biometrically registered against the national ID - The Citizen, so an old number may be dead. Third, the person may have another line, because many Tanzanians carry more than one SIM. Ask for the number on their other network.
Dial 011 255 (or +255), then the landline without its leading 0. Dar es Salaam Region landlines start 22 and Zanzibar landlines 24, so 022 xxx xxxx becomes +255 22 xxx xxxx. Landlines are scarce, with about 101,000 left nationwide in mid-2026 - TanzaniaInvest, so if an office number rings out, look for the organization's current mobile contact.
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