How to call abroad: exit codes and country codes

Every international call has three parts: the exit code of the country you call from, the country code of the country you call, and the local number without its leading zero.

The three parts of an international number

Exit code: tells your phone network the call leaves the country. It is 00 in the UK, Europe, most of Africa and the Middle East, and 011 in the US and Canada.
Country code: one to three digits. Eritrea is 291, Ethiopia 251, Sudan 249.
Local number: drop the leading 0 that people use inside the country.

On a mobile phone you can replace the exit code with + (hold down 0). The + works from any country, so it is the safest way to save numbers in your contacts.

Example: calling a mobile in Eritrea

A mobile number written in Eritrea as 07 123 456 becomes:

From	Dial
US or Canada	`011 291 7 123 456`
UK, Sweden, Germany and most others	`00 291 7 123 456`
Any mobile, or the Evricall app	`+291 7 123 456`

Common mistakes

Keeping the leading zero. +291 07 123 456 fails; drop the 0.
Using the wrong exit code. 00 does not work from the US; use 011 or +.
Calling at the wrong time. Eritrea is on UTC+3 all year. Check the time before you call.

Cheaper than a normal international call

Phone plans often charge a lot for calls to Eritrea, or block them. With an app like Evricall you dial the same +291 number, the call goes over your internet connection, and it rings on their normal phone. See the rates for Eritrea.