The +1-876 area code is for Jamaica. Like the Dominican Republic, Jamaica doesn't have its own country code. It shares +1 with the United States and Canada under the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). The area code 876 is what identifies a number as Jamaican. Since November 2018, Jamaica also uses a second area code, 658, as an overlay -- both cover the entire island. Jamaica has about 2.8 million people, with Kingston as the capital. English is the official language, though most Jamaicans speak Patois (a Creole language) in daily life. The country has produced an outsized cultural footprint for its size: reggae, dancehall, bobsled teams, and the fastest sprinters on earth.
Quick answer: Jamaica uses country code +1 with area codes 876 and 658. Numbers are 10 digits in NANP format:
+1-876-XXX-XXXX. From the US, dial it like a long-distance call: 1-876-XXX-XXXX. It looks domestic, but your carrier bills it as international.
How to call Jamaica: quick reference
Jamaica is part of the NANP (+1), so calling from the US or Canada uses domestic long-distance format. No exit code needed, but your carrier knows 876 and 658 are international destinations. From outside the NANP, dial your country's exit code, then 1, then the 10-digit number.
| Calling from | Dialing format |
|---|---|
| US/Canada | 1-876-XXX-XXXX (same as domestic long-distance) |
| UK | 00-1-876-XXX-XXXX |
| Cayman Islands | 1-876-XXX-XXXX (also NANP) |
| Trinidad & Tobago | 1-876-XXX-XXXX (also NANP) |
| Europe (Germany, etc.) | 00-1-876-XXX-XXXX |
Understanding Jamaica phone numbers
Jamaican numbers follow the standard NANP 10-digit format: area code (3 digits) + subscriber number (7 digits). Number portability has been available since 2015, so the area code no longer reliably indicates when a number was issued.
Area codes
| Area code | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 876 | Original (1997) | Replaced the old 809 code when Caribbean nations split from 809. The vast majority of existing numbers. |
| 658 | Overlay (2018) | Added when 876 numbers started running out. Covers the entire island. |
Before 1997, Jamaica was part of the 809 area code along with most of the Caribbean. When the Caribbean islands split off to get their own codes, Jamaica received 876. As that filled up, 658 was introduced in November 2018 as a full overlay -- both codes cover the same geographic area.
Number format
All Jamaican numbers are 10 digits: area code (876 or 658) + 7-digit subscriber number. As with other NANP countries, you can't reliably tell from the number alone whether it's a mobile or landline. Within Jamaica, dial all 10 digits for every call.
Landlines vs. mobile
Landline and mobile numbers share the same 10-digit format. In practice, certain number ranges within 876 lean more toward landlines (particularly 876-9XX-XXXX for some Kingston businesses and 876-6XX-XXXX) and others toward mobile (876-2XX through 876-5XX, 876-8XX), but this isn't a hard rule and number portability has blurred the lines. Mobile penetration in Jamaica is well over 100% (many people carry multiple SIMs), while landline use has been declining for years.
Mobile carriers in Jamaica
Two operators control the Jamaican mobile market. The duopoly is unusually lopsided.
Digicel Jamaica (~60-70% mobile market share)
Founded by the Irish billionaire Denis O'Brien, Digicel launched in Jamaica in April 2001 and upended the market within months. Before Digicel arrived, mobile service was expensive and mainly served the wealthy. Digicel introduced affordable prepaid plans and quickly signed up hundreds of thousands of customers. Today it dominates the mobile market. Digicel also operates across 31 Caribbean, Central American, and Pacific markets, but Jamaica was its first and remains its largest. Heavy into sports sponsorship -- West Indies cricket and Jamaican athletics.
FLOW Jamaica (~30-40% mobile market share)
The legacy carrier. FLOW's history goes back to Cable & Wireless Jamaica, which ran the island's telecom infrastructure for decades under various names (Cable & Wireless, LIME). Now owned by Liberty Latin America (John Malone's company). FLOW provides mobile, fixed-line, broadband, and cable TV -- the bundling helps it retain customers who might otherwise switch entirely to Digicel. Stronger on the fixed-line side and in corporate accounts.
Prepaid is dominant. Most people buy top-up credit from corner shops, gas stations, or electronic top-up services. WhatsApp is the primary messaging and voice app, but traditional phone calls remain common for reaching older family members or for business.
Don't confuse +1876 with nearby codes
The easiest mistake is swapping 876 and 868. Jamaica is 876, Trinidad is 868. One digit different in the middle.
| Code | Country | Format |
|---|---|---|
| +1-876/658 | Jamaica | 10-digit NANP: 876-XXX-XXXX |
| +1-868 | Trinidad & Tobago | 10-digit NANP: 868-XXX-XXXX (one digit off from 876) |
| +1-809/829/849 | Dominican Republic | 10-digit NANP: 809-XXX-XXXX |
| +1-246 | Barbados | 10-digit NANP: 246-XXX-XXXX |
876 vs. 868 trips people up constantly. Both are Caribbean NANP countries, both have large diaspora communities in the same cities (New York, London, Toronto), and a misdialed call will still connect -- just to a stranger on the wrong island. If you're dialing from memory, double-check that middle digit: 7 for Jamaica, 6 for Trinidad.
Time zone considerations
Jamaica is on Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-5) year-round. Jamaica does not observe daylight saving time. In winter, Jamaica and New York are on the same time. In summer, when the US shifts to EDT (UTC-4), Jamaica is one hour behind.
| Your location | Time difference | Call Jamaica 9 AM - 6 PM |
|---|---|---|
| US East Coast (EST, winter) | Same time | 9 AM - 6 PM EST |
| US East Coast (EDT, summer) | Jamaica is 1 hour behind | 10 AM - 7 PM EDT |
| US West Coast (PST) | Jamaica is 3 hours ahead | 6 AM - 3 PM PST |
| UK (GMT, winter) | Jamaica is 5 hours behind | 2 PM - 11 PM GMT |
| UK (BST, summer) | Jamaica is 6 hours behind | 3 PM - 12 AM BST |
| Toronto (same as US East) | Same as above | Same as US East Coast |
| Cayman Islands (EST) | Same time year-round | 9 AM - 6 PM EST |
For the US and Canadian diaspora, the time difference is minimal: zero to one hour depending on season. UK callers have more of a gap -- Jamaica is 5-6 hours behind London. Evening calls from the UK (6 PM GMT) reach Jamaica around noon or 1 PM, which works well. Calling Jamaica in the evening from the island means reaching the UK after midnight.
Communication in Jamaica
Business hours
Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Government offices close at 4 PM. Banks typically open 9 AM to 2 PM, some until 4 PM on Fridays. Saturday mornings are common for retail. Jamaica runs on "soon come" time -- punctuality is flexible, particularly outside of corporate settings. If someone says "mi soon come," they might be five minutes or an hour.
Language
English is the official language and what you'll hear in formal settings, on the news, and in business. But most Jamaicans speak Jamaican Patois (also called Jamaican Creole) in daily conversation. Patois is English-based but has its own grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary -- it can be difficult for other English speakers to follow on the phone, especially over a patchy connection. In business calls, most Jamaicans will switch to Standard Jamaican English. Hotels, airports, and government offices use standard English.
Network quality
4G/LTE coverage is good in Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and along the main corridors. Rural interior and mountain areas have patchier coverage. The north coast tourist strip has strong signal. Voice call quality on international calls to the US is generally good -- NANP routing handles US-Jamaica traffic efficiently given the volume. UK-Jamaica call quality is also typically clear. Underwater fiber cables connect Jamaica to the US and the wider Caribbean.
The Jamaica diaspora
The Jamaican diaspora is enormous relative to the island's population. There are roughly as many people of Jamaican descent living abroad as there are on the island itself.
United States (~1.1 million Jamaican-born, more by heritage)
The largest concentration is in the New York metro area:
- Brooklyn: Flatbush, East Flatbush, and Crown Heights are the heart of Jamaican New York. Eastern Parkway hosts one of the biggest West Indian Day parades in the world every Labor Day.
- The Bronx: Large Jamaican community, particularly in the northern Bronx.
- South Florida: Broward County (Lauderhill, Miramar, Pembroke Pines) has the second-largest Jamaican community in the US. Miami-Dade also has a large population.
- Hartford, Connecticut: One of the oldest Jamaican communities in the US.
- Atlanta, Philadelphia, and the DC metro area also have growing communities.
Remittances from the US are a major economic lifeline, totaling roughly $2.5-3 billion annually (about 15-18% of GDP).
United Kingdom (~800,000 of Jamaican heritage)
The Windrush generation. Starting in 1948 with the MV Empire Windrush, Jamaicans migrated to Britain to fill post-war labor shortages. This continued through the 1960s and 1970s. The community is concentrated in:
- London: Brixton (Lambeth), Hackney, Lewisham, Tottenham. Brixton is historically the center of Jamaican London.
- Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Nottingham all have established Caribbean communities.
The UK-Jamaica phone route is one of the busiest transatlantic links. The Windrush generation's children and grandchildren still maintain strong ties to family on the island.
Canada (~310,000)
Heavily concentrated in the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto has the largest Jamaican population of any city outside the Caribbean. Scarborough, Brampton, and Mississauga have large communities. The annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival (formerly Caribana) draws over a million attendees. Montreal and Ottawa also have Jamaican communities, though smaller.
Cayman Islands
Many Jamaicans live and work in the Cayman Islands, which is only about 300 km northwest of Jamaica. The Caymans' small population (about 70,000) includes a large Jamaican worker community in construction, hospitality, and domestic work. Both countries are in the same time zone and both use NANP, making phone calls between them as simple as a domestic long-distance call.
Dialing examples
Jamaica's NANP membership makes dialing from the US and Canada straightforward. From elsewhere, remember: the country code is +1, and 876 (or 658) is the area code.
Example 1: Calling a Kingston mobile from New York
- Jamaican number: 876-555-1234
- From a US phone:
1-876-555-1234 - Looks exactly like calling another US area code. Your carrier recognizes 876 as Jamaican and bills it as international.
Example 2: Calling a Montego Bay number from London
- Jamaican number: 876-555-6789
- From UK:
00 1 876 555 6789 - The country code is 1, not 1876. 876 is the area code within +1.
Example 3: Calling from Jamaica to the US
- US number: 347-555-9876 (NYC)
- From Jamaica:
1-347-555-9876 - Same format in both directions. NANP makes it symmetric.
Example 4: Calling a 658 number from Toronto
- Jamaican number: 658-555-4321
- From Canada:
1-658-555-4321 - Works exactly the same as calling 876. Both are Jamaican area codes.
Common mistakes to avoid
The most common errors when calling Jamaica:
Assuming the call is free/domestic from the US
Same trap as the Dominican Republic. Dialing 1-876-XXX-XXXX looks like a US long-distance call, but your carrier bills it as international. Some US plans include Jamaica; most don't. Check before you call, or use a service with transparent per-minute rates.
Not knowing about 658
Jamaica added the 658 area code in 2018. If someone gives you a number starting with 658, it's Jamaican -- not a mistake, not a scam. Some people haven't updated their mental model of "876 = Jamaica" and may not recognize 658. It works exactly the same as 876.
Confusing 876 with 868 (Trinidad)
876 is Jamaica. 868 is Trinidad and Tobago. One digit difference in the middle. Calling the wrong one connects you to a random person in the wrong Caribbean nation. If you're dialing from memory, double-check that middle digit.
Calling during a hurricane
Jamaica sits in the hurricane belt. During and after major storms (June-November season), phone networks can be overloaded or damaged. Cell towers and power infrastructure may go down. If you can't reach someone immediately after a hurricane, try again over the following days as networks are restored. Text messages and WhatsApp messages sometimes get through when voice calls don't.
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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What country has the 876 area code?
The 876 area code is for Jamaica. Jamaica also uses the 658 area code (added in 2018). Both are part of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) under country code +1.
Is 876 a US area code?
No. While 876 is part of the +1 numbering plan, it's an international area code for Jamaica. Calls to 876 from the US are billed as international, not domestic.
How do I call Jamaica from the US?
Dial 1-876-XXX-XXXX (or 1-658-XXX-XXXX). Same format as calling another US state. No exit code needed. Your carrier bills it as an international call.
What is the 658 area code?
658 is Jamaica's second area code, added in November 2018 when 876 numbers started running out. It covers the entire island -- there's no geographic difference between 876 and 658.
What time zone is Jamaica in?
Jamaica is on Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-5) year-round with no daylight saving. Same as New York in winter, one hour behind in summer.
How much does it cost to call Jamaica from the US?
Standard rates from major US carriers can range from $0.50 to $3.00/minute. Some unlimited plans include Jamaica; most don't. CallSky offers rates from $0.47/min.
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