Featured article photo: Handara Gate in Bali, Indonesia by Oleksandr Canary Islands (Pexels License)
Indonesian Mobile Phone Number Format
Indonesia has a country code of +62, which is then followed by 10–13 digits of phone numbers (for mobile phones). Here is how it looks:
+62-xxx-xxxx-xxxx
I would usually stick to saving someone's phone number in this format because it's the most complete and flexible. You can use this phone number format internationally (if you are calling from another country) and domestically (if you are calling from within Indonesia with an Indonesian phone number).
If you are contacting an Indonesian phone number domestically, adding +62 is not necessary, but you must replace it with a 0.
For example, if you are in Indonesia, and you are calling someone else in Indonesia with an Indonesian phone number of +62-812-3456-7890, there are two ways you can reach them:
- By calling +62-812-3456-7890, or
- By calling 0812-3456-7890.
Both of the above will work.
If you drop the country code (+62) without replacing it with a 0 (for example: 812-3456-7890), the call will not go through. The same goes with texting as well.
Indonesian Landline Phone Number Format
Many businesses and offices in Indonesia are still using landlines, although like in many other countries, its usage is declining for the typical everyman.
Landline phone numbers in Indonesia are generally shorter than mobile phones (typically about 7 digits long), but there is one thing you need to keep in mind:
When dialing a landline number, you need to know its area code.
In Indonesia, area codes apply to landline numbers only, so you don't need to worry about it when dialing mobile phone numbers.
Now, when you search for an Indonesian area code, sometimes you will get area codes that all begin with a 0. This "0" can be replaced with +62 like in the mobile phone number format shown above.
For example, here is a Wikipedia page that lists the area codes in Indonesia. The area code of the City of Denpasar in Bali is shown as 0361, so when making a call, you can dial either:
- 0361-xxx-xxxx, or
- +62-361-xxx-xxxx.
Both of them works domestically, but only the one beginning with +62 will work internationally.
I would save landline numbers with the +62 format for the best accessibility.
There are exceptions when you do not need to use area codes, for example, when you are dialing from another landline within the same area code. But this gets a little complicated and not worth exploring further, since the formats described above will do just fine.
Over and Out
The idea of having to switch out 0 with +62 in phone numbers usually throws people off, as that's quite an uncommon practice in many other countries.
In any case, you will often come across or receive phone numbers starting with 0 in Indonesia, so knowing how things work should make it easier for you.
Again, I save pretty much all of my Indonesian phone number contacts in the +62 format. Saves me from all the hassle, really.
Learn More
You might also be interested in learning how to count from 0 to 10 in Indonesian so that you can say or listen to someone's phone number. Here are other posts you might want to learn from:
- What Is the Indonesian Address Format?
- The 5 Administrative Divisions of Indonesia
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