+251 country code: Ethiopia

Who uses +251

The +251 country code belongs to Ethiopia, the only country listed on this page. Its official name is the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and its two letter ISO code is ET. People and businesses in Ethiopia are reached on numbers beginning with +251, and the Ethiopian demonym applies to its residents. The capital is Addis Ababa.

Location, language and money

Ethiopia sits in Africa, in the Eastern Africa subregion. Amharic is the language named for the country. The currency is the Ethiopian birr. Local time follows the Africa/Nairobi time zone at UTC+03:00. A call or message to a +251 number reaches a line in Ethiopia, and the person receiving it keeps the same number whether the contact comes from inside the country or from abroad.

Number format and calling over the internet

Ethiopian mobile numbers written in international form follow this example: +251 91 123 4567. The +251 part is the country code, and the digits after it identify the individual line. Use the full international format when you call or message from outside Ethiopia.

You can call or message a +251 number over the internet using a data connection. A voice or messaging app carries the call over your data plan rather than a traditional international route, which keeps the cost of reaching an Ethiopian number down. The same data connection supports messaging to the same +251 number. Check that your data connection is active before you dial.

Slashtel sends prepaid mobile top-ups to Ethiopia operators Ethio Telecom and Safaricom. If you want to add credit to a line in the country, you can top up a Ethiopia number through the recharge page. Top-ups are prepaid, so the credit goes onto the balance of the Ethiopian number you name. This suits people in Ethiopia who need airtime on an Ethio Telecom or Safaricom line, and it works alongside calling or messaging that number over the internet. The country code stays the same: +251, with the capital Addis Ababa, the Amharic language and the Ethiopian birr all part of the same national setting on the Africa/Nairobi time zone at UTC+03:00.