The +47 country code is for Norway. If you've received a call starting with +47 or need to reach someone in Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, or a fishing village above the Arctic Circle, this guide covers how to dial correctly. Norway's numbering system is nearly identical to Denmark's: 8 digits, no area codes, no trunk prefix.
Norway has a large immigrant workforce, particularly from Poland, Lithuania, and Sweden, which means a lot of international calls flow in and out of the country. If you're one of those callers, or if you're doing business with a Norwegian company, the dialing is about as painless as it gets.
Quick answer: Dial +47 followed by the 8-digit number. Norway has no area codes and no trunk prefix. Mobile numbers start with 4 or 9. Landlines start with 2, 3, 5, 6, or 7. From a US landline, dial 011-47 then the 8 digits. From Europe, dial 00-47 then the 8 digits.
How to call Norway: quick reference
Norway uses flat 8-digit numbering. No area codes, no trunk prefix. The only variable is your international exit code: 00 from most of Europe, 011 from the US/Canada on a landline, or + on any mobile.
| Calling from | Dialing format |
|---|---|
| Poland | 00-47-XX-XX-XX-XX |
| Sweden | 00-47-XX-XX-XX-XX |
| UK | 00-47-XX-XX-XX-XX |
| Lithuania | 00-47-XX-XX-XX-XX |
| US/Canada mobile | +47 XX XX XX XX |
| US/Canada landline | 011-47-XX-XX-XX-XX |
Understanding Norway phone numbers
All Norwegian phone numbers are 8 digits. No area codes, no trunk prefix. The system is almost identical to Denmark's. The first digit gives you a rough idea of what type of number you're calling.
Mobile numbers
Mobile numbers start with 4 or 9 and are 8 digits:
- 4XX XX XXX - Mobile (most common range)
- 9XX XX XXX - Mobile (newer allocations)
The 4 range is where the majority of Norwegian mobile numbers sit. 9 was opened up later as 4 started filling up. Both ranges are split across carriers, so the prefix doesn't tell you the operator. Number portability is universal in Norway, meaning people keep their numbers when switching carriers.
Landline numbers
Landline numbers are 8 digits and start with 2, 3, 5, 6, or 7. The first two digits historically mapped to geographic regions:
- 2X - Oslo and surrounding area
- 3X - Drammen, Vestfold, Telemark
- 5X - Bergen and western Norway
- 6X - Trøndelag (Trondheim area)
- 7X - Northern Norway (Tromsø, Bodø, etc.)
These geographic associations are historical. With number portability, a 22-number could technically have been moved anywhere, but in practice most landlines are still where they were originally assigned. If you see a +47 22 number, it's almost certainly Oslo.
No area codes, no trunk prefix
Norway does not use area codes or trunk prefixes. The 8 digits after +47 are the complete number. You don't drop a 0, you don't add a city code. If someone tells you their number is 22 12 34 56, you dial +47 22 12 34 56 from abroad. That's it.
Mobile carriers in Norway
Norway has three network operators. The market is dominated by the state-backed incumbent, with two solid competitors.
Telenor (~45-50% market share)
Telenor is Norway's former state monopoly, still majority-owned by the Norwegian government (54%). It's the largest operator by a wide margin and has the most extensive coverage, which matters in a country where "remote" means fjords, mountains, and islands above the Arctic Circle. Telenor's network reaches places the others don't. If you're calling someone in Lofoten, Svalbard, or a small coastal town in Finnmark, Telenor is the most likely carrier. The company is also a major international telecom group operating across Scandinavia and Asia.
Telia (~30% market share)
Telia Norway (formerly NetCom, then Telia) is the second-largest operator. NetCom was Norway's first mobile competitor when it launched in 1993, and it built a strong network and customer base. Telia, the Swedish-Finnish telecom group, acquired it and rebranded. Coverage is good in populated areas and along major roads and rail lines, but thinner in the most remote northern regions compared to Telenor.
Ice (~15-20% market share)
Ice is Norway's third operator, formed from the merger of several smaller players. They compete on price and have been investing in expanding their own network rather than relying entirely on roaming agreements. Coverage has improved but still lags behind Telenor and Telia in rural areas. Ice is popular with price-sensitive customers and immigrants who want cheap plans with international calling included.
MVNOs
Several MVNOs operate on the big three's networks. Lycamobile and Lebara target the immigrant community with cheap international calling packages. MyCall (on Telia's network) specifically markets to Norwegian residents who call abroad frequently.
Don't confuse +47 with nearby codes
Norway sits between Denmark and Sweden in the Scandinavian country code sequence.
| Code | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| +45 | Denmark | 8-digit numbers, no area codes |
| +46 | Sweden | Variable-length numbers with area codes |
| +47 | Norway | 8-digit numbers, no area codes |
| +354 | Iceland | 7-digit numbers |
| +358 | Finland | Variable-length numbers |
The most common mix-up is +46 (Sweden) versus +47 (Norway). These two countries share a long border, and many Swedes work in Norway (and vice versa). If you dialed +46 when you meant +47, you'll reach a Swedish number. Since Sweden uses area codes and variable-length numbers while Norway uses flat 8-digit numbering, an incorrect country code often produces an error rather than connecting to a wrong person.
+45 (Denmark) is also easily confused, especially in writing. All three Scandinavian codes are sequential: 45, 46, 47. Denmark and Norway both use 8-digit flat numbering, so there's no format difference to tip you off if you dial the wrong one.
Note that Svalbard (the Arctic archipelago) uses +47, the same as mainland Norway. You don't need a separate code to call Longyearbyen.
Time zone considerations
Norway uses Central European Time (CET), UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer (CEST). This is the same time zone as Denmark, Germany, France, and most of continental Europe. Norway follows EU daylight saving rules, switching on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October.
| Your location | Norway time | When it's noon in Norway |
|---|---|---|
| US Eastern (EST/EDT) | 6 hours ahead (winter) / 6 hours ahead (summer) | 6:00 AM your time |
| US Pacific (PST/PDT) | 9 hours ahead (winter) / 9 hours ahead (summer) | 3:00 AM your time |
| UK (GMT/BST) | 1 hour ahead year-round | 11:00 AM your time |
| Poland | Same time zone | 12:00 PM your time |
| India (IST) | 4.5 hours behind (winter) / 3.5 hours behind (summer) | 4:30 PM / 3:30 PM your time |
Poland is in the same time zone as Norway, which is convenient since Poles are the largest immigrant group in the country. Calls between the two don't require any time zone math. From the UK, Norway is 1 hour ahead year-round (both shift clocks on the same dates). From the US, the 6-9 hour gap limits business calling to mornings Eastern time or very early Pacific time.
Communication in Norway
Business hours
Norwegian business hours are typically 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday to Friday. Some offices run 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM in summer (particularly June-August, when many Norwegians take extended holidays). Fridays often wind down early. Calling a Norwegian office after 4:00 PM is unlikely to reach anyone.
Norwegians are punctual. A 10:00 AM call means 10:00 AM. They also protect their personal time; calling someone's work mobile after hours is acceptable in an emergency but not for routine matters. Lunch is usually around 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM and is brief (Norwegians often eat matpakke, a packed lunch, at their desks).
Language
Norwegian is the official language, with two written forms: Bokmål (used by ~85% of the population, dominant in Oslo and eastern Norway) and Nynorsk (used in western and rural areas). For phone calls, the difference is minimal since everyone understands both. Almost all Norwegians speak excellent English, especially in business. You can call a Norwegian company and conduct the entire conversation in English without any friction.
Sami languages are spoken in parts of northern Norway (Finnmark, Troms), but speakers are bilingual in Norwegian. You won't encounter a language barrier on the phone.
Network quality
Norway's mobile coverage is remarkably good considering the geography. Telenor in particular has invested in covering fjords, mountains, islands, and Arctic settlements. 4G covers about 95% of the population, and 5G is live in Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, and Trondheim. Call quality is excellent in urban areas and along major transport routes. In very remote locations (interior Finnmark, mountain cabins far from roads), coverage can drop, but these are places where few people have a permanent address.
Norwegians use a mix of regular calls, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. Messenger is probably the most popular personal messaging app in Norway (more so than WhatsApp, which is the reverse of most European countries). For business, regular phone calls and email are standard.
The Norway diaspora
Like Denmark, Norway is a wealthy country with minimal emigration. The calling patterns are driven by immigrants in Norway calling home, cross-border Scandinavian traffic, and business calls from abroad.
Polish workers in Norway (~100,000+)
Poles are the largest immigrant group in Norway, drawn by the oil-fueled economy and construction boom. Many work in construction, shipyards, fishing, and oil services. Phone calls between Norway and Poland are extremely frequent, which is why Lycamobile, Lebara, and MyCall all offer cheap Norway-to-Poland bundles. The same time zone (CET) makes calling easy since there's no time difference.
Lithuanian and other Baltic/Eastern European workers
Lithuanians are the second-largest immigrant group from the EU. Similar to the Polish community, they work in construction, services, and aquaculture (salmon farming in northern Norway). Calls to Lithuania, Latvia, and other Eastern European countries are a steady flow out of Norwegian mobile numbers.
Swedish cross-border traffic
Swedes and Norwegians move back and forth across their shared border routinely. Many Swedes live near the border and commute to Norwegian jobs (especially in Oslo and the oil sector around Stavanger). Calls between +46 and +47 are constant. EU/EEA roaming rules help, but calls between the two country codes may still bill as international depending on the plan.
Norwegian-Americans
The US has about 4.5 million people claiming Norwegian descent, mostly in the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota). This is a historical diaspora from 19th-century emigration, and most Norwegian-Americans have no close relatives in Norway anymore. Occasional calls happen, particularly around the Syttende Mai (May 17th, Norwegian Constitution Day) celebrations, but this isn't a high-volume calling corridor like Poland-Norway.
Dialing examples
Calling a mobile in Oslo from Poland
Your colleague's number is 45 12 34 56 (a mobile starting with 4).
You dial: 00-47-45-12-34-56
00 is Poland's international exit code, 47 is Norway's country code, then the 8 digits.
Calling a landline in Oslo from the US
The office number is 22 34 56 78 (an Oslo landline starting with 22).
You dial from a mobile: +47 22 34 56 78
You dial from a landline: 011-47-22-34-56-78
Calling a number in Bergen from Sweden
The number is 55 12 34 56 (a Bergen-area landline starting with 55).
You dial: 00-47-55-12-34-56
00 is Sweden's exit code, then Norway's country code and the 8 digits.
Calling within Norway
Just dial the 8 digits: 45 12 34 56. No country code, no prefix. Same format whether you're calling locally in Oslo or from Tromsø to Kristiansand.
Common mistakes to avoid
Dialing +46 (Sweden) instead of +47 (Norway)
The classic Scandinavian mix-up. +46 is Sweden, +47 is Norway. If you need a mnemonic: Norway's code (47) is higher than Sweden's (46), just like Norway's prices. In a more useful sense: if you accidentally dial +46 with an 8-digit Norwegian number, Sweden may try to interpret it as a Swedish number (which uses area codes and variable lengths), so you'll likely get an error or a wrong connection.
Adding a trunk prefix (0)
Norway does not use a trunk prefix. Don't add a 0 before the number when calling internationally. If a Dane or German gives you a number like "0 22 12 34 56," that 0 doesn't exist in Norway. The complete number is 22 12 34 56, and you dial +47 22 12 34 56. Some older printed directories may show a 0 prefix out of habit from other European systems, but it doesn't apply to Norway.
Confusing Svalbard with a separate country code
Svalbard (including Longyearbyen, the northernmost settlement with regular phone service) uses +47, the same as mainland Norway. You don't need a special Arctic code. If someone gives you a Svalbard number, dial it exactly like any other Norwegian number.
Calling during Norwegian holidays
Norway essentially shuts down for three to four weeks in July. Many businesses close entirely or operate with skeleton staff. The week before and after Easter (påskeferie) is also a major holiday when people head to mountain cabins, many of which have poor mobile coverage. If your Norwegian contact goes silent during these periods, it's cultural, not technical.
Call Norway from $0.04/min
CallSky offers affordable international calling to Norway. With rates starting from just $0.04/min, you can stay connected with friends, family, and business contacts in Norway.
- No subscription required - Pay only for the calls you make
- Crystal-clear quality - HD voice over WiFi or mobile data
- Works anywhere - Call from the web app or iOS app
View detailed calling rates to Norway →
Prefer calling over WiFi? See our guide to the best apps for WiFi calling.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What country uses the +47 code?
+47 is the country code for Norway, including Svalbard. It does not cover Greenland (+299) or the Faroe Islands (+298), which are Danish territories.
How many digits is a Norwegian phone number?
All Norwegian phone numbers are exactly 8 digits. There are no area codes and no trunk prefix. Mobile numbers start with 4 or 9, landlines with 2, 3, 5, 6, or 7.
How do I call Norway from the US?
From a US mobile, dial +47 followed by the 8-digit number. From a US landline, dial 011-47 followed by the 8-digit number.
What is the difference between +46 and +47?
+46 is Sweden and +47 is Norway. Sweden uses area codes with variable-length numbers. Norway uses flat 8-digit numbers with no area codes.
What time zone is Norway in?
Norway uses Central European Time (CET), UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer. It's 6 hours ahead of the US East Coast and in the same time zone as Poland, Germany, and France.
Does Norway have area codes?
No. Norway uses flat 8-digit numbering. Some leading digits historically corresponded to regions (22 for Oslo, 55 for Bergen), but these are part of the number, not separate area codes you add or remove.
Ready to make clear, affordable international calls without the hassle? With CallSky.io, you can connect to over 180 countries, including Norway, with crystal-clear quality and transparent per-minute rates. Start calling with CallSky.io today.