Direct dialing international calls from most countries has become quite easy in the past decade. The typical international call simply consists of dialing a series of numbers in sequence as follows:

1. The international direct dialing prefix (IDD),
2. A country code,
3. A city code, and
4. The local telephone number.

If you are calling from the United States, the IDD is 011. The IDD differs from country to country. For Brazil it is 00. Some countries do not allow direct dialing for international calls but require them to be placed through the operator. The table on the next page lists IDD prefixes for most countries that allow international direct dialing. You may need to wait for a dial tone after dialing the IDD.

The IDD is followed by the country code (shown in square brackets [ ] in the table starting on page 228), the city code or area code (if there is one) (shown in parentheses ( ) in the table starting on page 228), and the local telephone number. When city codes are not required, a * appears in place of the city code in our table.

If you are calling to other countries or territories that use the same country code as the country you are calling from, you will normally not use the international IDD prefix (the IDD prefix is sometimes called the "international access code"). For example, the United States, Canada, and many Caribbean Islands all use the country code [1], so calls made between countries within this zone will be dialed as regular long-distance calls and not as international calls.

Example: To call Chicago from London, U.K., dial:

010 + [1] + (312) + (local telephone number). The U.K. international access code is 010, the country code for the U.S. is [1] and the area code for Chicago is (312).

Example: To call Sydney, Australia from Denmark, dial:

00 + [61] + (2) + (local telephone number). The Denmark international access code is 00, the country code for Australia is [61] and the city code for Sydney is (2).

Example: To call New Delhi, India from Hong Kong, dial: 001 + [91] + (11) + (local telephone number).

(The Hong Kong international access code is 001, the country code for India is [91], and the city code for New Delhi is (11).

Example: To call Hong Kong from the United States, dial: 011 + [852] + (local telephone number)

(The U.S. international access code is 011, the country code for Hong Kong is [852], and there are no city codes.)

Example: To call Vancouver, British Columbia from the United States, dial: 1 + (604) + (the local number).

(The prefix 1 is used for long-distance calls within Canada, the US, and the Caribbean. (604) is the area code for British Columbia)

Example: To call any point in the Dominican Republic from the United States, dial: 1+ (809) + (local telephone number)

(The prefix 1 is used for long-distance calls within Canada, the US, and the Caribbean and (809) is the area code for the Dominican Republic.)

Time differences, that is, how many hours the given city or country is ahead or behind the four major U.S. time zones and Greenwich Mean Time, have been given in the right-hand columns in the following table. All cities in a given country or territory are in one time zone unless a    symbol appears next to the country name. Find the city you wish to call, and the column which corresponds to the time zone you are calling from. Add or subtract the number shown to your own current time to find the time in that city.

Example: You are calling France from New York. +6 appears in the EST (Eastern Standard Time) column for France, which means France is 6 hours ahead of New York. Thus, when it is 9 a.m. Monday in New York, it is 3:00 p.m. Monday in France.

Example: You are calling Japan from San Francisco. +17 appears in the PST (Pacific Standard Time) column for Japan, which means Japan is 17 hours ahead of San Francisco. Thus, when it is 4:00 p.m. Monday in San Francisco, it is 9:00 a.m. Tuesday in Japan.

The time differences given are based on Standard Time, and may require adjustment if either you or the country you are calling is following Daylight Savings Time (DST) at the time you place the call.

Most of the United States is in DST from the first Sunday in April until the last Sunday in October. Many, but not all, countries north of the Tropic of Cancer also use DST during a similar period. DST is not used in most tropical areas. Countries in the southern hemisphere that follow a daylight savings period normally use it from mid-March through mid-October, their summertime.

The dates used for DST vary considerably from country to country and even from year to year. Also, in a few larger countries like the United States, Australia, and Brazil, some regions of the country may follow daylight savings while others do not.

If you are in DST, and the country you are calling is not, subtract one hour from the time shown. If you are in Standard Time, and the country you are calling is currently following DST, add one hour to the time shown. If you and the country you are calling are both using DST the time difference shown in the table will be correct.

Example: You are calling Japan from San Francisco in June. California follows DST in the summer, while Japan does not. The PST (Pacific Standard Time) column for Japan shows +17. Subtract one hour from this, to find that Japan is 16 hours ahead of San Francisco. Thus, when it is 4:00 p.m. Monday in San Francisco, it is 8:00 a.m. Tuesday in Japan.

Listed information was current as of February 1999. City codes and dialing systems are changing rapidly as the need for more telephone numbers increases worldwide.

For codes not listed here, or for the current time anywhere in the world, call your international operator. In the United States, dial 00 for AT&T information. AT&T publishes an International Dialing Guide that is updated regularly and is free on request.

There are some resources available on the Internet. World time listed by country is at www.isbister.com/worldtime/. World time and dialing codes is at www.whitepages.com.au/time.shtml. Type in from where you are calling and to where you want to dial-time and code will then appear. Local Times Around the World is at http://www.hilink.com.au/times/. A list of International Dialing Codes is at http://kropla.com/dialcode.htm, and the AmeriCom Long Distance Area Decoder at http://www.xmission.com/~americom/aclookup.html will allow you to look up both U.S. and international country codes, city codes, and area codes.