The +856 country code is for Laos -- officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, a landlocked communist state in Southeast Asia. Laos is sandwiched between Thailand to the west, Vietnam to the east, China to the north, and Cambodia and Myanmar at its other borders. About 7.5 million people live here, making it one of the least densely populated countries in Asia. Vientiane, the capital, sits on the Mekong River directly across from the Thai city of Nong Khai -- you can see Thailand from the riverbank. Laos is also the most heavily bombed country per capita in history: the US dropped over 2 million tons of ordnance on it between 1964 and 1973 during a campaign that was kept secret from the American public for years. About a third of those bombs didn't explode, and unexploded ordnance still kills and injures people today.

Quick answer: The country code +856 is for Laos. Mobile numbers use prefix 20 followed by 7-8 digits: +856 20 XXXX XXXX. Vientiane landlines use area code 21: +856 21 XXX XXX. The trunk prefix is 0 -- drop it when dialing from abroad.

How to call Laos: quick reference

Laos uses a trunk prefix of 0. Domestically, Lao people dial 0 before the number (e.g., 020 for mobiles, 021 for Vientiane landlines). When calling from abroad, drop the 0. Thailand is listed first because it has the largest Lao diaspora and constant cross-border traffic. France is included because of the colonial connection (French Indochina). Vietnam is a neighbor with deep political and economic ties.

Calling from Dialing format
Thailand 00-856-[local number]
US/Canada mobile +856 [local number]
US/Canada landline 011-856-[local number]
France 00-856-[local number]
Australia 0011-856-[local number]
Vietnam 00-856-[local number]

Understanding Laos phone numbers

Lao phone numbers vary in length. Mobile numbers are 9-10 digits after +856. Landlines are 8 digits. The system is less uniform than in some countries because the network expanded in stages.

Mobile numbers

All Lao mobile numbers start with 20, followed by 7-8 digits. Newer numbers tend to be 8 digits (10 total after +856), while some older numbers are 7 digits (9 total). The digits after 20 roughly indicate the carrier:

  • 20 2X, 20 7X, 20 9X (some): Unitel
  • 20 5X: Lao Telecom (LTC)
  • 20 9X (some): ETL
  • 20 8X: TPLUS

Number portability doesn't really exist in Laos, so the prefix is still a reasonable indicator of the carrier. But the numbering ranges have been reassigned enough times that it's not foolproof.

Landline numbers

Lao landlines use 2-digit area codes followed by 6 digits:

City Area code Format after +856
Vientiane Capital 21 21 XXX XXX (8 digits)
Luang Prabang 71 71 XXX XXX (8 digits)
Savannakhet 41 41 XXX XXX (8 digits)
Pakse (Champasak) 31 31 XXX XXX (8 digits)
Vientiane Province 23 23 XXX XXX (8 digits)
Xiangkhouang 61 61 XXX XXX (8 digits)

Landlines are uncommon outside of government offices, hotels, and established businesses. Mobile penetration has outpaced fixed-line by a wide margin. If someone gives you a Lao number, assume it's a 020 mobile unless told otherwise.

Mobile carriers in Laos

Laos has four mobile operators. Two of them are joint ventures with Vietnamese state telecoms, which tells you something about the political relationship between the two countries.

Unitel (~45-50% market share)

The market leader, a joint venture between Lao Asia Telecom (government-linked) and Vietnam's Viettel Group. Viettel is a military-owned telecom conglomerate and one of the most aggressive mobile operators in Southeast Asia. Unitel launched in 2009 and quickly became the largest carrier by undercutting competitors on price and building towers in rural areas that nobody else served. Coverage is the best of the four operators, including remote mountainous areas in the north.

Lao Telecom / LTC (~30-35%)

A joint venture between the Lao government and Vietnam's VNPT (Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group). The older of the two Vietnamese-backed carriers. Lao Telecom also operates the country's fixed-line network and much of the internet backbone. Strong in Vientiane and the Mekong corridor cities. The LTC brand is well-established but has lost ground to Unitel's more aggressive rural expansion.

ETL (~10-15%)

Enterprise of Telecommunications Lao, fully state-owned. The smallest of the three established carriers. ETL was historically the monopoly telecom before liberalization. Coverage is limited mostly to urban areas. ETL numbers start with 20 9X ranges.

TPLUS (~5%)

The newest and smallest operator, formerly known as Beeline Laos (when it was operated by VEON/VimpelCom). After VEON pulled out, the operation was rebranded as TPLUS. Budget carrier with limited coverage. If you encounter a TPLUS number, the person is almost certainly in an urban area.

Don't confuse +856 with nearby codes

The +855/+856 confusion is the one that actually happens. Cambodia is +855, Laos is +856. One digit apart, and both are former French Indochina countries in Southeast Asia. If you dial +855 instead of +856, you'll reach Phnom Penh instead of Vientiane.

Code Country Region
+856 Laos Southeast Asia
+855 Cambodia Southeast Asia
+853 Macau East Asia (China SAR)
+852 Hong Kong East Asia (China SAR)

The +852/+853 codes for Hong Kong and Macau are close in the numbering space but hard to confuse in practice -- if you're calling someone in Laos, you'd have to mistype badly to land in Macau. The Cambodia mix-up is the real risk.

Time zone considerations

Laos is on Indochina Time (ICT, UTC+7) year-round with no daylight saving time. This is the same time zone as Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia -- which makes cross-border calling between these neighbors easy, at least in terms of timing.

Your location Time difference Call Laos 9 AM - 6 PM
US East Coast (EST) Laos is 12 hours ahead 9 PM (prev day) - 6 AM EST
US East Coast (EDT) Laos is 11 hours ahead 10 PM (prev day) - 7 AM EDT
US West Coast (PST) Laos is 15 hours ahead 6 PM (prev day) - 3 AM PST
France (CET) Laos is 6 hours ahead 3 AM - 12 PM CET
France (CEST) Laos is 5 hours ahead 4 AM - 1 PM CEST
Australia (AEST) Laos is 3 hours behind 12 PM - 9 PM AEST
Thailand (ICT) Same time zone 9 AM - 6 PM ICT

Tip: For the US diaspora (especially Minneapolis), calling Laos during business hours is rough -- you're looking at late evening or early morning calls from the Midwest. The France connection is more manageable with morning calls from Paris. The Thailand-Laos connection has zero time difference, which is convenient given how many Lao workers are in Thailand.

Communication in Laos

Business hours and language

Government offices in Laos work 8 AM to 12 PM and 1 PM to 4 PM, Monday through Friday. Private businesses keep longer hours, roughly 8 AM to 5 or 6 PM. The lunch break is real -- don't expect to reach anyone between 12 and 1 PM.

Lao is the official language. It's closely related to Thai -- speakers of each language can understand each other to a degree, especially in everyday conversation. French has a residual presence from colonial times: older educated Lao people may speak it, and some government documents are still in French, but it's fading. English is growing among younger people in Vientiane, particularly in the tourism and NGO sectors. In rural areas, Lao and ethnic minority languages are all you'll hear.

Messaging apps

WhatsApp is widely used for international communication, especially with the diaspora. Within Laos, Facebook Messenger is probably more common -- Facebook is the internet for many Lao users, and Messenger is the default chat. WeChat has growing usage, driven by the large Chinese business community and Chinese tourists. LINE has some presence, influenced by Thailand where it's the dominant app. For the Lao diaspora in the US, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are both standard.

Network quality

4G is available in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, Pakse, and along the main highways. The Lao-China railway corridor (Vientiane to Boten on the Chinese border, opened 2021) has good coverage because the Chinese contractors demanded it. Outside major towns, 3G is common and 2G persists in remote mountain areas. Internet speeds in Vientiane are decent -- 15-25 Mbps on 4G -- but drop off quickly in rural provinces. Power outages can also affect cell towers, so coverage in rural Laos can be intermittent, especially during the rainy season (May to October).

The Laos diaspora

The Lao diaspora was created by war. After the communist Pathet Lao took power in 1975, roughly 10% of the population fled -- mostly across the Mekong to Thailand, and from there to resettlement countries. The Hmong minority, who had fought as CIA-backed guerrillas during the Secret War, were disproportionately targeted and fled in huge numbers.

Where they went

  • Thailand: The largest Lao population outside Laos, though exact numbers are hard to pin down because many are undocumented migrant workers. Conservative estimates say 200,000-300,000 Lao nationals work in Thailand, mostly in construction, agriculture, and domestic service in Bangkok and the central provinces. The cultural overlap helps -- Isan (northeast Thailand) is ethnically and linguistically Lao, so Lao migrants blend in more easily than other foreign workers in Thailand. The Friendship Bridges across the Mekong mean constant back-and-forth traffic.
  • United States: About 200,000-250,000 Lao-Americans, according to census data. The twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have the largest concentration -- an unusual destination that traces back to church sponsorship programs in the late 1970s and chain migration after that. Fresno and Sacramento in California, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Nashville, and Seattle also have large communities. Separately, about 300,000 Hmong-Americans (many originally from Laos) live in the US, mostly in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Fresno, and Wisconsin. They maintain a distinct identity but share the Laos connection.
  • France: 50,000-60,000 Lao diaspora, concentrated in the Paris region. The colonial link: Laos was part of French Indochina from 1893 to 1953. The Lao elite was French-educated, and France was the natural destination for those with means and connections. The 13th arrondissement in Paris, known for its Asian community, has Lao restaurants and shops alongside Vietnamese and Cambodian ones.
  • Australia: 10,000-15,000 Lao-Australians, mainly in Melbourne and Sydney. Refugee resettlement in the late 1970s and 1980s.
  • Canada: About 10,000, mostly in Toronto and Montreal.

Why they call

Lao New Year (Boun Pi Mai, mid-April) is the biggest calling spike -- three days of water festivals, temple visits, and family gatherings. Many diaspora Lao try to visit for Pi Mai, and those who can't will call. Buddhist holidays (Boun Ok Phansa, Boun That Luang) also drive calling volume. The US-based community in particular maintains strong ties to specific villages and towns, often pooling money for temple construction or community projects back home. Phone calls to coordinate these efforts are routine.

Dialing examples

Laos uses trunk prefix 0. Drop it when dialing from abroad.

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

  • Local number: 020 2345 6789
  • From a US mobile: +856 20 2345 6789
  • From a US landline: 011 856 20 2345 6789

Drop the leading 0. The "20" tells you it's a mobile number.

Example 2: Calling a Vientiane landline from France

  • Local number: 021 234 567
  • From France: 00 856 21 234 567

Drop the 0 from the area code (021 becomes 21). Vientiane landlines are area code 21.

Example 3: Calling a Luang Prabang landline from Thailand

  • Local number: 071 212 345
  • From Thailand: 00 856 71 212 345

Thailand uses 00 as the international access code. Luang Prabang's area code is 71.

Example 4: Calling a Lao mobile from Australia

  • Local number: 020 5567 8901
  • From Australia: 0011 856 20 5567 8901

Common mistakes to avoid

Here are the most common mistakes when dialing the +856 country code:

Leaving the trunk prefix in

Domestically, Lao people dial 020 for mobiles and 021 for Vientiane landlines. From abroad, drop the leading 0. Dial +856 20, not +856 020. This is the most frequent error.

Dialing +855 instead of +856

Cambodia is +855, Laos is +856. One digit apart. Both are in Southeast Asia, both were part of French Indochina. If your call connects but nobody speaks Lao, you may have reached Cambodia by accident.

Wrong number of digits

Lao mobile numbers aren't uniform in length. Some are 9 digits after +856 (20 + 7 digits), others are 10 digits (20 + 8 digits). If a call doesn't connect, check whether you have the right number of digits rather than assuming the number is wrong.

Calling during power outages

Rural Laos has unreliable electricity. Cell towers may go down during power cuts, especially in the rainy season (May-October) when storms knock out power lines. If you can't reach someone in a provincial area, try again in a few hours rather than concluding the number is disconnected.

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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What country has the +856 country code?

The +856 country code is for Laos (Lao People's Democratic Republic), a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. Capital: Vientiane.

How many digits is a Lao phone number?

Lao mobile numbers are 9-10 digits after +856 (prefix 20 + 7-8 digits). Landlines are 8 digits (2-digit area code + 6 digits).

How do I call Laos from the USA?

From a mobile phone, dial +856 followed by the number (drop the leading 0). From a landline, dial the US exit code 011, then 856, then the number without the leading 0.

What is the difference between +856 and +855?

+856 is Laos (capital: Vientiane). +855 is Cambodia (capital: Phnom Penh). Both are in Southeast Asia and the codes are one digit apart.

Does Laos have a trunk prefix?

Yes. Laos uses 0 as a trunk prefix. Domestically, people dial 020 for mobiles and 021 for Vientiane. Drop the 0 when calling from abroad.

What time zone is Laos in?

Laos is on Indochina Time (ICT, UTC+7) year-round with no daylight saving time. Same time zone as Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

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