Like addresses, the format for telephone numbers around the world varies significantly. Once again, input fields and the routines that process information dealing with telephone numbers should be able to handle the variety of formats.
Table 4-12 displays different formats used throughout the world.
Table 4-12 Formats for telephone numbers for selected countries.
Country | Format |
China | 1234 5678 |
France | 01-23-45-67-89 |
Poland | (12) 345.67.89 |
Singapore | 123 4567 |
Thailand | (01) 234-5678 or (012) 34-5678 |
United Kingdom | 0123 456 7890 or 01234 567890 |
United States | (123) 456 7890 |
Notice that there are different separators such as hyphens (-), periods (.), and spaces, different groupings (two, three, four, five, and six digits per group), and different numbers of total digits used (7-11). Also, the examples just given didn't include country codes, which could be anything from one to three digits.
The ITU-T standard E.164, defined by the Comit Consultatif International T l phonique et T l graphique (CCITT), states that the maximum number of digits is 15, but this doesn't include space for things like:
Thus when designing and coding for display and storage of telephone numbers, do not assume one given format, but leave it very flexible. The current implementation of NLS APIs and the .NET Framework do not provide any telephone-number formatting information. Knowing this, you should: