Telephone numbers in Hong Kong
Location of Hong Kong
|
|
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Country | Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China |
| Continent | Asia |
| Regulator | Communications Authority |
| Type | Closed |
| Typical format | +852 XXXX XXXX (Mobile phone and fixed-line numbers) |
| Access codes | |
| Country calling code | +852 |
| International call prefix | 001 |
| Trunk prefix | none |
Telephone numbers in Hong Kong are mostly eight-digit. Fixed land line numbers start with 2 or 3, Mobile (cellular) phone numbers with 5, 6 or 9, pager numbers with 7 and forwarding service with 8. Since the end of 1989, there have been no area codes within Hong Kong.
The telephone number for emergency services – Police, Fire Service and Ambulance – is 999 for all telephone lines. These numbers can also be used for mobile and other users:
Some special numbers are three- to five-digit. Some premium rate services, for example for games and adult contents, are 11-digit. Numbers beginning with '1' are usually reserved for carrier/operator services. These services are provided by the individual telephone carrier. In general, these numbers can be used across all carriers:
The International Call Prefix varies depending on IDD provider, however 001 works on all phone lines and uses the IDD service provided by the same carrier as the telephone line that 001 call is dialed from. During the years of telephone monopoly, the International call prefix was 106 (through 1980s) and then 001. Calls to Macau and the People's Republic of China are international, as are calls to Taiwan. Format to dial from Hong Kong to:
The present structure and format of telephone numbers in Hong Kong according to the Hong Kong Telecom Service Numbering Scheme, is as follows (the first digits of the telephone number is used as follows):
In the 1970s, area codes were assigned with the following pattern:
There was no standard trunk prefix like '0' – only the area code and phone number were dialed when calling from one area code to another. Thus the Kowloon number xxx-xxx would have been dialed as follows:
In the mid-1980s, 6-digit numbers starting with '0' became 7-digit numbers starting with '71', making way for subsequent change of the New Territories prefix from '12' to '0'.
Fixed-line phone numbers were either six- or seven-digit in the 1980s. Area codes were assigned with the following patterns.
Cellular phone numbers are all eight-digit starting with '9'.
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