Emergency Telephone Numbers

There are a number of three digit emergency phone numbers which are frequently used throughout the world. These numbers put you through to a switchboard operator and then your call is routed according to whether you need fire services, medical help or the police. It is worth noting that these numbers can be different on landlines to mobile phones. For instance the emergency services number in New Zealand is 111 but if you have an urgent, non-emergency need to speak to the traffic police you can dial 555 from a mobile only. Some countries also have three separate numbers. In Guatemala it is 110 for police, 120 for medical and 123 for fire.

The number 999 is used in the United Kingdom, The United Arab Emirates (alternatively they call 112), Bangladesh, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Uganda, Zambia and many more nations.

112 is also a very popular code and it is used in most European countries such as Cyprus, Denmark, France and Italy. 112 can also be called from Russia, Columbia and Lebanon. In Australia the number is 000 and in the United States of America and Canada they dial 911. America has a useful redirect service where if you dial 112 on a mobile phone it gets re-routed to 911.

Most mobile phones have the numbers 999, 911 and 112 already plugged into them on speed dial so it might be worth familiarizing yourself with this.

Three digit numbers are used for emergencies so that they can be easily remembered and quickly dialled. Before you plan your trip you may also want to look up the relevant embassy details for your country and have their contacts in case of emergency. If you want a number for a local automobile association you can take this too, though Rhino does provide breakdown assistance to our customers.

Emergency Telephone Contact Numbers by Country