658 Area Code
Jamaica · Kingston
The 658 area code serves Jamaica. It is part of the North American Numbering Plan, so the country shares the same +1 prefix as the United States and Canada, but Jamaica is a sovereign jurisdiction with its own telecom regulator and carriers. It is part of an overlay complex with a single sibling code (876).
About Jamaica
- Country
- 🇯🇲Jamaica (JM)
- Capital
- Kingston
- Population
- 2,839,175 (2024)
- Area
- 10,991 km²
- Currency
- Jamaican dollar (JMD)
- Languages
- English, Jamaican Patois
- Timezone
- America/Jamaica (UTC−5, no DST)
- Internet TLD
- .jm
- Drives on
- Left
History
Creation: Area code 658 was approved by Jamaica's Office of Utilities Regulation on September 15, 2016, as an overlay on the existing 876 area code, in response to central office code exhaustion driven by the mobile-phone boom. After several delays, mandatory ten-digit dialing took effect on March 30, 2019, with 658 officially in service from April 30, 2019. The first central office codes in 658 were not actually assigned until May 2023, making it the first overlay NPA outside the US and Canada.
Mnemonics: The digits 658 map to letter combinations on the standard telephone keypad, yielding 27 possible three-letter mnemonics. Telecom regulators sometimes pick one of these as a marketing handle (e.g. ‘BHA’ for The Bahamas, ‘TNT’ for Trinidad and Tobago).
Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_codes_876_and_658, JIS — 658: Jamaica's new area code, Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) — NPA Relief Planning.
How to call Jamaica
No 011 prefix needed — Jamaica is part of the NANP, so calls dial like a domestic North American number. Long-distance and roaming charges still apply.
Use your country's international access code (00 in most of Europe, 0011 in Australia), then 1, the 658 area code, and the local number.
Ten-digit dialing is required because Jamaica runs an overlay complex (multiple area codes for the same territory).
Major cities in Jamaica
Settlements served by the 658 area code, ranked by population. Smaller territories may have a single major settlement plus surrounding villages.
| City | Population | % of country |
|---|---|---|
| Kingston | 662,426 | 23.3% |
| Portmore | 182,153 | 6.4% |
| Spanish Town | 147,152 | 5.2% |
| Montego Bay | 110,115 | 3.9% |
| May Pen | 61,548 | 2.2% |
| Listed total | 1,163,394 | 41.0% |
Telecom operators
Numbers in the 658 area code are assigned by Jamaica's telecom regulator to the following landline and mobile operators.
- Digicel
- Flow (Cable & Wireless)
Overlay codes in Jamaica
Other Caribbean area codes
Frequently Asked Questions
658 is the area code for Jamaica. It is part of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), which is why Jamaica shares the same +1 country prefix as the United States and Canada — but the country itself is sovereign.