The +502 country code connects calls to Guatemala, the most populous country in Central America with roughly 18 million people. If you've received a call from a number starting with +502 or need to reach someone in Guatemala City, Quetzaltenango, or anywhere else in the country, this guide covers everything you need to dial correctly on the first try.
Guatemala's phone system is simpler than most. All numbers are exactly 8 digits, there are no area codes, and there is no trunk prefix. The first digit tells you whether it's a mobile or landline, and the entire country runs on a single time zone. If you're calling from the US, which is where most calls to Guatemala originate, you're probably already close to the right time.
Quick answer: Dial +502 followed by the 8-digit local number. Guatemala uses no area codes and no trunk prefix. Mobile numbers start with 3, 4, or 5. Landlines start with 2 (Guatemala City) or 7 (other departments). From a US landline, dial 011-502 then the 8 digits.
How to call Guatemala: quick reference
Guatemala's dialing is straightforward since there are no area codes to worry about. The international exit code depends on where you're calling from. From the US and Canada, it's 011 for landlines or just + on a mobile phone. From Mexico and the rest of Central America, it's 00.
| Calling from | Dialing format |
|---|---|
| US/Canada mobile | +502 XXXX XXXX |
| US/Canada landline | 011-502-XXXX-XXXX |
| Mexico | 00-502-XXXX-XXXX |
| El Salvador | 00-502-XXXX-XXXX |
| Honduras | 00-502-XXXX-XXXX |
Understanding Guatemala phone numbers
Guatemala has one of the simplest phone numbering systems in the Americas. Every number is exactly 8 digits, with no area codes and no trunk prefix. The first digit tells you the type of line.
Mobile numbers
Mobile numbers start with 3, 4, or 5 and are 8 digits total. The format is XXXX XXXX. Examples:
- 3XXX XXXX (various carriers)
- 4XXX XXXX (various carriers)
- 5XXX XXXX (various carriers)
Unlike some countries where the leading digits map cleanly to a specific carrier, Guatemala's number ranges have been allocated to different operators over time. A number starting with 5 could be Tigo or Claro depending on the block.
Landline numbers
Landline numbers start with 2 or 7 and are also 8 digits:
- 2XXX XXXX - Guatemala City and the surrounding metropolitan area
- 7XXX XXXX - Departments outside the capital (Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, Cobán, Escuintla, etc.)
Numbers starting with 2 are heavily concentrated in the capital. If you see a +502 2 number, you're almost certainly calling Guatemala City.
No area codes, no trunk prefix
Guatemala eliminated area codes in 2004 when it moved to the flat 8-digit system. Before that, Guatemala City used area code 2 and other regions used different codes. Today, those old codes are simply baked into the number itself. There is no 0 to drop or add when dialing internationally.
Mobile carriers in Guatemala
Guatemala's mobile market is essentially a two-operator race after Telefónica sold its Movistar operations in 2019.
Tigo (~55-60% market share)
Tigo, owned by Luxembourg-based Millicom, is the largest mobile operator in Guatemala. It has been in the market since the late 1990s and significantly expanded its subscriber base when it acquired Telefónica's Central American operations in 2019. Tigo has the widest 4G LTE coverage in the country, including decent coverage in rural highland areas where other operators have gaps. Tigo Money, their mobile money platform, is widely used for remittance collection.
Claro (~35-40% market share)
Claro is owned by América Móvil, Carlos Slim's Mexican telecom empire. It's the second-largest operator and competes aggressively on pricing, particularly for prepaid plans. Claro has strong coverage along major highways and in urban centers. Their network tends to perform well in Guatemala City and Escuintla but coverage can thin out in the more remote western highlands (Huehuetenango, Quiché).
Smaller operators
There are a handful of smaller operators including Tuenti (Telefónica's low-cost brand, which continued briefly after the Movistar sale) and some local MVNOs, but their combined market share is negligible. For practical purposes, if you're calling a Guatemalan mobile number, it's going to Tigo or Claro.
Don't confuse +502 with nearby codes
Central American country codes run sequentially from +502 to +507, which makes mix-ups common. One wrong digit sends your call to a different country entirely.
| Code | Country | How to tell apart |
|---|---|---|
| +502 | Guatemala | 8-digit numbers, starts with 2-7 |
| +503 | El Salvador | 8-digit numbers, mobiles start with 6/7 |
| +504 | Honduras | 8-digit numbers, mobiles start with 3/8/9 |
| +505 | Nicaragua | 8-digit numbers, mobiles start with 5/7/8 |
| +506 | Costa Rica | 8-digit numbers, mobiles start with 5/6/7/8 |
| +507 | Panama | 7-8 digit numbers, mobiles start with 6 |
The most common confusion is between +502 (Guatemala) and +503 (El Salvador). Both countries share a land border, many Guatemalans have family in El Salvador, and the codes differ by one digit. If you're calling someone in Guatemala and the call goes through but nobody recognizes you, double-check that you dialed 502, not 503.
+504 Honduras is another frequent mix-up, especially for people in the US Guatemalan diaspora who also have Honduran contacts. All three Northern Triangle countries have sequential codes and 8-digit numbers, so extra care is needed.
Time zone considerations
Guatemala uses Central Standard Time (CST), which is UTC-6, year-round. The country does not observe daylight saving time, so the offset never changes.
| Your location | Guatemala time | When it's noon in Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| US Eastern (EST/EDT) | 1 hour behind (winter) / 2 hours behind (summer) | 1:00 PM / 2:00 PM your time |
| US Central (CST/CDT) | Same (winter) / 1 hour behind (summer) | 12:00 PM / 1:00 PM your time |
| US Pacific (PST/PDT) | 2 hours ahead (winter) / 1 hour ahead (summer) | 10:00 AM / 11:00 AM your time |
| Mexico City (CST/CDT) | Same (winter) / 1 hour behind (summer) | 12:00 PM / 1:00 PM your time |
| London (GMT/BST) | 6 hours behind (winter) / 7 hours behind (summer) | 6:00 PM / 7:00 PM your time |
For calls from the US, the timing works well. Guatemala is close enough to US time zones that you rarely have to worry about waking someone up. The main catch is that the US shifts clocks twice a year for DST, while Guatemala doesn't. From March to November, subtract an extra hour when calculating Guatemala time.
Communication in Guatemala
Business hours and availability
Standard business hours in Guatemala are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM or 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Government offices often close at 4:00 PM. Many businesses, particularly smaller shops and markets, are open on Saturday mornings. Lunch breaks are common between noon and 1:00 PM, though this is less rigid in Guatemala City than in smaller towns.
For personal calls, evenings between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM Guatemala time work well. Sundays are family days and most people are available by phone, though they may be at church in the morning (Guatemala has a large evangelical Protestant population alongside Catholic traditions).
Language considerations
Spanish is the official language and what you'll encounter in any phone interaction with businesses, government offices, or most urban residents. However, Guatemala has 22 Mayan languages still actively spoken, particularly K'iche', Kaqchikel, Mam, and Q'eqchi'. In rural highland areas, the person you're calling may speak a Mayan language at home and Spanish as a second language. If you're calling an elder family member in a rural area, they may have limited Spanish.
Network quality
Guatemala City and major urban centers (Quetzaltenango, Escuintla, Antigua Guatemala) have decent 4G coverage. Call quality is generally reliable in these areas. Coverage drops off in the western highlands (Huehuetenango, Quiché, Alta Verapaz) and in the Petén jungle region in the north. If you're trying to reach someone in a rural area and the call won't connect, it may be a coverage issue rather than a wrong number. Try again later or try WhatsApp, which uses less bandwidth and handles spotty connections better.
WhatsApp is the dominant messaging platform in Guatemala, used by an estimated 90%+ of smartphone users. Many Guatemalans prefer WhatsApp calls over traditional voice calls because they avoid per-minute charges. If you have the person's number, you can usually reach them on WhatsApp even when a regular call won't go through.
The Guatemala diaspora
Guatemala has one of the largest diaspora populations relative to its size in the Western Hemisphere. An estimated 2 to 3 million Guatemalans live abroad, the vast majority in the United States. Remittances from the US made up roughly 18% of Guatemala's GDP in 2024, making international calling between these two countries a daily necessity for millions of families.
United States (~2-3 million)
The US Guatemalan population is concentrated in several metropolitan areas. Los Angeles has the largest community, centered around the Westlake/MacArthur Park and Pico-Union neighborhoods west of downtown. Houston, Texas has the second-largest concentration, spread across the Gulfton and Sharpstown areas. The Washington D.C. metro area (particularly suburban Maryland and northern Virginia) has a large and growing community. New York City (especially Brooklyn and Queens), Chicago (Pilsen and Little Village), and South Florida (Palm Beach County in particular) also have substantial populations.
Many Guatemalans in the US are from the western highlands (Huehuetenango, Quetzaltenango, San Marcos) and are indigenous Maya who speak K'iche' or Mam as their first language, Spanish as their second, and are learning English as their third. Phone calls home are a lifeline, often weekly or more frequent.
Mexico (~100,000-200,000)
Mexico's southern states, particularly Chiapas and Tabasco, have Guatemalan populations. Some are transient, en route to the US, while others have settled in border towns like Tapachula or moved to Mexican cities. Cross-border calling between Guatemala and southern Mexico is common, especially for families split across the border.
Canada, Spain, and other destinations
Smaller Guatemalan communities exist in Canada (mainly Toronto and Montreal, often through seasonal agricultural worker programs), Spain (Madrid), and other Central American countries. These populations are much smaller than the US community but still maintain regular phone contact with family in Guatemala.
Dialing examples
Calling a mobile in Guatemala City from a US cell phone
Your friend's number in Guatemala is 5555 1234 (a mobile starting with 5).
You dial: +502 5555 1234
On most US cell phones, hold the 0 key to get the + symbol, then type 502 followed by the 8-digit number. No area code, no trunk prefix.
Calling a landline in Guatemala City from a US landline
The office number is 2222 3456 (a landline starting with 2, indicating Guatemala City).
You dial: 011-502-2222-3456
011 is the US international exit code, 502 is Guatemala's country code, and then the full 8-digit number.
Calling a landline in Quetzaltenango from Mexico
The number is 7761 5678 (a landline starting with 7, indicating a department outside Guatemala City).
You dial: 00-502-7761-5678
00 is Mexico's international exit code. Then Guatemala's country code, then the 8 digits.
Calling a Guatemalan mobile from within Guatemala
If you're already in Guatemala and calling a local number, just dial the 8 digits directly: 4123 4567. No country code, no prefix, nothing else needed.
Common mistakes to avoid
Confusing +502 with +503 (El Salvador)
This is the single most common mistake. The codes are one digit apart, both countries use 8-digit numbers, and many families in the US have contacts in both countries. Double-check: 502 is Guatemala, 503 is El Salvador. If the call connects but the person seems confused, you probably dialed the wrong country code.
Adding an area code or trunk prefix
Guatemala doesn't use area codes or trunk prefixes. If you found an old directory listing that says "area code 2" for Guatemala City, ignore it. The 2 is already part of the 8-digit number. Don't dial +502-2-XXXX-XXXX (9 digits) when you should dial +502-2XXX-XXXX (8 digits). Similarly, don't add a 0 before the number, as some countries require. Guatemala has no trunk prefix.
Using outdated 7-digit numbers
Before 2004, Guatemala used 7-digit numbers with area codes. If you have a very old contact number that's only 7 digits, it won't work. All numbers are now 8 digits. You'll need to get the updated number from your contact.
Forgetting the US changed its DST schedule
Guatemala doesn't observe DST, but the US does. Between the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November, there's an extra hour's difference. A call that's convenient at 7 PM EST in January arrives at 6 PM in Guatemala. But the same 7 PM EDT call in July arrives at 5 PM in Guatemala. Not a huge difference, but it can catch you off guard for scheduled calls.
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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What country uses the +502 code?
+502 is the country code for Guatemala. Any phone number beginning with +502 is a Guatemalan number.
How many digits is a Guatemala phone number?
All Guatemala phone numbers are exactly 8 digits. There are no area codes. Mobile numbers start with 3, 4, or 5. Landlines start with 2 (Guatemala City) or 7 (other departments).
How do I call Guatemala from the US?
From a US mobile phone, dial +502 followed by the 8-digit number. From a US landline, dial 011-502 followed by the 8-digit number. There is no area code or trunk prefix to add.
What is the difference between +502 and +503?
+502 is Guatemala and +503 is El Salvador. These are neighboring countries with sequential country codes, so mix-ups are common. Both use 8-digit numbers, but Salvadoran mobile numbers typically start with 6 or 7, while Guatemalan mobiles start with 3, 4, or 5.
What time zone is Guatemala in?
Guatemala is in Central Standard Time (CST), UTC-6, year-round. The country does not observe daylight saving time. During US summer (March-November), Guatemala is 2 hours behind Eastern Daylight Time instead of the usual 1 hour.
Does Guatemala have area codes?
No. Guatemala eliminated area codes in 2004. All numbers are a flat 8 digits. The first digit indicates the type of line (2 for Guatemala City landlines, 7 for regional landlines, 3/4/5 for mobile), but this is part of the number itself, not a separate area code.
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