The +244 country code is for Angola. A country of about 36 million people on Africa's southwestern Atlantic coast, Angola is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world after Brazil. Luanda, the capital, is a city of roughly 9 million people and one of the most expensive cities in Africa. Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and then fought a civil war for 27 years straight, from 1975 to 2002. The country is Africa's second-largest oil producer (after Nigeria), and oil revenues account for about 90% of exports. The economy runs on oil, and the phone system runs on mobile -- landlines barely exist outside of government offices and oil company headquarters.

Quick answer: The country code +244 is for Angola. All Angolan numbers are 9 digits after +244. Mobile numbers start with 9: +244 9XX XXX XXX. Landlines start with 2: +244 2XX XXX XXX. There is no trunk prefix -- dial the number exactly as written.

How to call Angola: quick reference

Angola does not use a trunk prefix. The domestic number is the same as the international number minus the country code. No leading 0 to drop. Portugal is listed because the Angolan diaspora is overwhelmingly concentrated there. Brazil shares the language and has growing economic ties. South Africa is the regional economic hub.

Calling from Dialing format
US/Canada mobile +244 [local number]
US/Canada landline 011-244-[local number]
UK 00-244-[local number]
Portugal 00-244-[local number]
Brazil 00-244-[local number]
South Africa 00-244-[local number]

Understanding Angola phone numbers

Angola uses a flat 9-digit numbering plan. No area codes, no trunk prefix. The first digit tells you the type of number:

  • 9XX XXX XXX: Mobile number.
  • 2XX XXX XXX: Landline number.

If someone gives you an Angolan number, add +244 in front and dial. That's it.

Mobile numbers

The vast majority of Angolan phone numbers are mobile. Mobile penetration is around 40-50% (lower than many African countries due to high costs), but in Luanda it's much higher. The second and third digits of a mobile number often indicate the carrier:

  • 92X, 93X, 94X, 96X, 99X: Unitel
  • 91X: Movicel
  • 95X: Africell

Unitel dominates, so most +244 9XX numbers you encounter will be Unitel numbers.

Landline numbers

Landlines start with 2. Luanda landlines typically start with 222. Other provincial capitals have their own prefixes embedded in the 9-digit number:

  • 222: Luanda
  • 231: Cabinda
  • 241: Benguela
  • 261: Huambo
  • 252: Lubango (Huíla)

Landlines are rare. Angola Telecom, the state fixed-line operator, has a tiny subscriber base. If someone gives you a +244 number, it's almost certainly a mobile.

Mobile carriers in Angola

Unitel -- ~70% market share

Angola's dominant carrier by a wide margin. Unitel was founded in 2001 as a joint venture between the state oil company Sonangol and private investors, including Isabel dos Santos (daughter of former president José Eduardo dos Santos). After dos Santos lost power in 2017, the Angolan government seized Isabel dos Santos's assets, including her Unitel stake. The company is now effectively state-controlled. Unitel has the widest coverage in Angola, including some rural areas, and the best 4G network in Luanda. Prefixes 92, 93, 94, 96, 99.

Movicel -- ~25% market share

State-owned through Angola Telecom. The second carrier, with decent coverage in provincial capitals but thinner in rural areas. Movicel has been trying to compete on price and data bundles, but Unitel's head start and network size make it tough. Prefix 91.

Africell -- newest entrant

Africell launched in Angola in 2022, making it the newest operator. Africell is a Lebanese-owned group that operates across several African countries (Sierra Leone, Gambia, DRC, Uganda). Still building out its network and subscriber base. Prefix 95. Coverage is mostly limited to Luanda and a few other cities for now.

SIM cards require registration with an Angolan ID or passport. Prepaid dominates -- almost all consumers use prepaid plans and buy airtime in small increments. Airtime is a de facto currency: people transfer phone credit as a way to send small amounts of money.

Don't confuse +244 with nearby codes

Angola's +244 sits between two other African codes that are easy to confuse.

Code Country Note
+244 Angola Capital: Luanda
+243 DR Congo One digit off. Shares northern border
+245 Guinea-Bissau Also Portuguese-speaking, but in West Africa
+258 Mozambique Other major Lusophone African country

The most dangerous mix-up is +244 vs. +243. The DR Congo shares Angola's northern border, and there's cross-border traffic between the two countries. One misdialed digit sends your call to Kinshasa instead of Luanda. The DRC uses 9-digit numbers too, which makes the error less obvious.

Guinea-Bissau (+245) is also Portuguese-speaking, which can cause confusion when someone says "the Portuguese-speaking African country starting with 24..." Angola is +244, Guinea-Bissau is +245. They're on opposite sides of the continent.

Don't forget Cabinda. Angola's Cabinda province is an exclave separated from the rest of the country by a strip of DRC territory. Cabinda uses the same +244 code as mainland Angola -- it's not a separate country despite being physically disconnected.

Time zone considerations

Angola is on West Africa Time (WAT, UTC+1) year-round with no daylight saving time. Same time zone as Nigeria, Cameroon, and much of Central/West Africa.

Your location Time difference Call Angola 9 AM - 6 PM
US East Coast (EST) Angola is 6 hours ahead 3 AM - 12 PM EST
US East Coast (EDT) Angola is 5 hours ahead 4 AM - 1 PM EDT
US West Coast (PST) Angola is 9 hours ahead 12 AM - 9 AM PST
UK (GMT) Angola is 1 hour ahead 8 AM - 5 PM GMT
UK (BST) Same time zone 9 AM - 6 PM BST
Portugal (WET) Angola is 1 hour ahead 8 AM - 5 PM WET
Portugal (WEST) Same time zone 9 AM - 6 PM WEST
Brazil (BRT, São Paulo) Angola is 4 hours ahead 5 AM - 2 PM BRT
South Africa (SAST) Angola is 1 hour behind 10 AM - 7 PM SAST

The Portugal-Angola time gap is minimal -- one hour in winter, identical in summer. This is the best diaspora calling window. Brazil is 4 hours behind, which gives a reasonable afternoon overlap. South Africa is just one hour ahead.

Communication in Angola

Language

Portuguese is the official language and the lingua franca. About 70% of Angolans speak Portuguese, though many also speak Bantu languages -- Umbundu (the largest, spoken by about 25% of the population), Kimbundu (around Luanda), Kikongo (in the north), and others. In Luanda, Portuguese dominates completely. In rural areas, you might encounter someone who speaks limited Portuguese. If you're calling a business or government office, Portuguese is assumed.

Angolan Portuguese sounds different from European Portuguese. The accent is closer to Brazilian Portuguese in many ways -- slower, more open vowels, easier for non-native speakers to understand than Lisbon Portuguese.

Business hours and communication style

Business hours are typically 8 AM to 12:30 PM, then 2:30 PM to 6 PM, Monday through Friday. The long lunch break is real in Angola. Many businesses and all government offices shut down for two hours in the middle of the day. Calling between 12:30 and 2:30 PM is generally a waste of time for business matters.

Angolans tend to be formal in initial business contacts. "Senhor" and "Senhora" are standard. Relationships matter more than contracts -- building trust before business is expected. Phone conversations can run long because cutting someone short is considered rude.

Messaging apps

WhatsApp is dominant, as in all Lusophone Africa. It's the primary communication tool for both personal and business use. Voice notes are extremely popular -- many people prefer recording a voice message to typing. WhatsApp calls are the default for international communication because traditional international calls are expensive.

Facebook Messenger is also used. Instagram is growing among younger urban Angolans. Telegram has a niche following.

Network and internet

Mobile internet is expensive. Angola has some of the highest data costs in Africa relative to average incomes. 4G is available in Luanda and provincial capitals, but outside cities you're on 3G or 2G, if anything. The country's internet backbone improved after the SACS submarine cable (connecting Angola to Brazil) went live in 2018, but bandwidth distribution remains uneven.

Power outages are common outside of central Luanda. When the electricity goes out, cell towers run on generators, and some run out of diesel. If you can't reach someone in a provincial town, it might be a power issue knocking out the local cell tower.

The Angola diaspora

Angola's diaspora is smaller than some African countries but tightly concentrated in one place: Portugal.

Portugal -- the overwhelming majority

An estimated 200,000-400,000 Angolans live in Portugal, mostly in Lisbon and its suburbs (Amadora, Sintra, Loures, Setúbal). Some came during the civil war as refugees, others for education, others for economic opportunity. The connection runs both ways -- about 100,000 Portuguese lived in Angola during the oil boom years (2005-2014), many working in construction, engineering, and services. When oil prices crashed in 2014, many returned to Portugal, but the phone traffic between the two countries stayed heavy.

Lisbon's Angolan community is visible in neighborhoods like Cova da Moura and Buraca, with Angolan restaurants, music venues, and shops. Kizomba and semba music from Angola are mainstream in Portugal now.

Brazil

A growing Angolan community in Brazil, particularly in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The shared language makes Brazil a natural destination, though the cultural distance is larger than with Portugal. Angolan students in Brazilian universities form a significant part of this community. The SACS submarine cable linking Luanda directly to Fortaleza (Brazil) has improved communication quality between the two countries.

Namibia and South Africa

About 20,000-30,000 Angolan refugees settled in Namibia during the civil war, mostly in the northern regions near the border. Many stayed after the war ended. South Africa has a smaller but significant Angolan community in Johannesburg and Cape Town, mostly business-oriented migrants.

DRC and Republic of Congo

There's constant movement across Angola's northern borders with the DRC and Congo-Brazzaville. Kikongo-speaking communities straddle the border. These aren't traditional diaspora relationships -- they're family networks that predate the colonial borders. Phone traffic between northern Angola and Kinshasa is heavy.

United States and United Kingdom

Small Angolan communities exist in the US (Houston has the largest concentration, connected to the oil industry, plus smaller groups in New Jersey and Massachusetts) and the UK (London, particularly southeast London). These are tiny compared to the Portuguese diaspora.

Dialing examples

Example 1: Calling a Luanda mobile (Unitel) from the US

  • Angolan number: 923 456 789
  • From a US mobile: +244 923 456 789
  • From a US landline: 011 244 923 456 789

Example 2: Calling a Luanda mobile (Movicel) from Portugal

  • Angolan number: 912 345 678
  • From Portugal: 00 244 912 345 678

Example 3: Calling a Luanda landline from Brazil

  • Angolan number: 222 345 678
  • From Brazil: 00 244 222 345 678

Example 4: Calling a Cabinda mobile from the UK

  • Angolan number: 924 567 890
  • From UK: 00 244 924 567 890

Common mistakes to avoid

Adding a trunk prefix that doesn't exist

Angola has no trunk prefix. Don't add a 0 before the number. If the number is 923 456 789, dial +244 923 456 789. Not +244 0923 456 789.

Confusing +244 with +243

Angola is +244, the DR Congo is +243. One digit apart, they share a long border. If your call ends up in Kinshasa instead of Luanda, you dialed +243 by mistake.

Confusing Angola with Mozambique

Both are Portuguese-speaking African countries. Angola is +244 on the west coast. Mozambique is +258 on the east coast. They're on opposite sides of the continent. If someone says "the Portuguese-speaking African country," clarify which one.

Calling during the lunch break

Business in Angola shuts down between roughly 12:30 PM and 2:30 PM. If you're calling a business contact and nobody picks up during that window, it's not a technical problem -- they're at lunch.

Assuming WhatsApp will always work

Data is expensive and power outages affect cell towers. If someone in a provincial town isn't responding on WhatsApp, they might not have data or their tower might be down. A regular voice call to their +244 number is more reliable in those situations, since voice works on 2G when data doesn't.

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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What country has the +244 country code?

The +244 country code is for Angola.

How many digits is an Angolan phone number?

All Angolan numbers are 9 digits after +244. Mobile numbers start with 9, landlines start with 2.

How do I call Angola from the USA?

From a mobile phone, dial +244 followed by the 9-digit number. From a landline, dial 011, then 244, then the 9-digit number. No leading 0 to drop.

What is the difference between +244 and +243?

+244 is Angola (capital: Luanda). +243 is the Democratic Republic of Congo (capital: Kinshasa). They share a border.

Does Angola have a trunk prefix?

No. Angola does not use a trunk prefix. Dial the 9-digit number directly after +244.

What language is spoken in Angola?

Portuguese is the official language. Angolan Portuguese has a distinctive accent closer to Brazilian Portuguese than European Portuguese. Several Bantu languages (Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo) are also widely spoken.

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