How to Call for Help in Case You Wake Up in a Foreign Country

In most countries, there is one single emergency telephone number that allows you to contact local emergency services when in need of assistance. In the United States, that number is 911, which most of us know by the time we're able to speak, unless you're Buckwheat and Porky.

While one specific number is ubiquitous to its corresponding region, that number varies from country to country, with over 40 numbers spanning across the globe, each represented by the different colors in the map below.

With so many numbers, it might be difficult to remember them all and which part of the world they're associated with. As a matter of fact, why even memorize them all when cell phones exist?

Well, you never know when you might just get a little too drunk and wake up in a foreign country with no cell phone or recollection of what happened the night before.

Note: The list below is broken up by color, as is the map above (full version here). Each color represents several numbers, including police (P), medical (M) and fire (F). If there is no distinction between the three, the one number will satisfy all three categories.

Pink (01, 02, 03, 15, 17, 18, 022, 066)

• Algeria—17 (P), 14 (F)
• Comoros—17 (P)
• Chad—17 (P), 18 (F)
• Georgia—022
• Mexico—066
• New Caledonia—17 (P), 15 (M), 18 (F)
• Mali—18 (P), 15 (M), 17 (F)
• Pakistan—15 (P), 15 (M), 1516 (F)
• Reunion—17
• Russia—02 (P), 03 (M), 01 (F)
• Tajikistan—02 (P), 03 (M), 01 (F)
• Turkmenistan—03
• Uzbekistan—02 (P), 03 (M), 01 (F)

Mustard (100, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 110, 111)

• Armenia—102 (P), 103 (M), 101 (F)
• Azerbaijan—102 (P), 103 (M), 101 (F)
• Belarus—102 (P), 103 (M), 101 (F)
• Bolivia—110 (P), 118 (M), 119 (F)
• China—110 (P), 120 (M), 119 (F)
• Cote d'Ivoire—111
• Cuba—106 (P) , 105 (F)
• Ecuador—101
• India—100 (P), 102 (M), 101 (F)
• Indonesia—110 (P), 118 (M), 113 (F)
• Japan—110 (P), 119 (M), 119 (F)
• Kazakhstan—103
• Kyrgyzstan—102 (P), 103 (M), 101 (F)
• Iran—110 (P), 115 (M), 125 (F)
• Mongolia—102 (P), 103 (M), 101 (F)
• Nepal—100
• New Zealand—111
• Palestine—101
• Peru—105 (P), 117 (M), 116 (F)
• Taiwan—110 (P), 119 (M), 119 (F)
• United Republic of Tanzania—111

Red (112)

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• French Guiana
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Korea
• Kuwait
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Rwanda
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sudan
• Svalbard
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Syrian Arab Republic—112 (P), 110 (M), 113 (F)
• Timor-Leste
• Ukraine
• Vanuatu
• Yugoslavia

Orange (113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119)

• Afghanistan—119 (P), 102 (M), 119 (F)
• Angola—113 (P), 115 (M), 112 (F)
• Bhuton—113 (P), 112 (M), 110 (F)
• Cambodia—117 (P), 119 (M), 118 (F)
• Central African Republic—117 (P)
• Gambia—117 (P), 116 (M), 118 (F)
• Haiti—114
• Madagascar—117
• Mauritania—117 (P), 118 (F)
• Mozambique—119 (P), 117 (M), 198 (F)
• Nicaragua—118
• Philippines—117
• Sri Lanka—119/118 (P), 110 (M), 110 (F)
• Suriname—115
• Togo—117/171 (P), 242 (M), 118 (F)
• Viet Nam—113 (P), 115 (M), 114 (F)

Yellow (122, 123, 129, 132, 133, 180)

• Albania—129 (P), 127 (M), 128 (F)
• Bosnia & Herzegovina—122 (P), 124 (M), 123 (F)
• Cape Verde—132 (P), 130 (M), 131 (F)
• Chile—133 (P), 131 (M), 132 (F)
• Colombia—123
• Egypt—122
• Guatemala 120/122/123
• Iraq—122
• Lesotho—123/124 (P), 121 (M), 122 (F)

Light Blue (190, 191, 193, 197, 199)

• Brazil—190 (P), 192 (M), 193 (F)
• Ghana 191 (P), 193 (M), 192 (F)
• Honduras—199
• Jordan—199
• Lao People's Democratic Republic—191 (P), 195 (M), 190 (F)
• Libya—193
• Nigeria—199
• Morocco—190
• Thailand—191 (P), 1554 (M), 199 (F)
• Tunisia—197
• Yemen—199

Dark Blue (911)

• Argentina—911 (P), 107 (M), 100 (F)
• Bahamas
• Belize
• Bermuda
• Canada
• Cayman Islands
• Costa Rica
• Dominican Republic
• El Salvador
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• Guam
• Guyana
• Jamaica
• Liberia
• Marshall Islands
• Palau
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Turks & Caicos Islands
• United States
• United States Virgin Islands
• Uruguay

Medium Blue (99, 991, 993, 995, 997, 998, 999)

• Bangladesh—999 (P)
• Botswana—999 (P), 997 (M), 998 (F)
• Burma—999
• Ethiopia—99
• Falkland Islands—999
• Hong Kong—999
• Kenya—999
• Kiribati—999
• Malawi—997 (P), 998 (M), 999 (F)
• Malaysia—999
• Qatar—999
• Saudi Arabia—999 (P), 997 (M), 998 (F)
• Solomon Islands—999
• Swaziland—999
• Trinidad & Tobago—999 (P), 990 (M), 990 (F)
• Uganda—999
• United Arab Emirates—998/999
• United Kingdom—999
• Zambia—999 (P), 991 (M), 993 (F)
• Zimbabwe—999 (P), 994 (M), 993 (F)

Dark Purple (000)

• Australia
• Papua New Guinea

Light Purple (Others)

• Congo—24,206,665
• Gabon—1730 (P), 1300 (M), 18 (F)
• Namibia—1011 (P), 2032276 (M), 2032270 (F)
• Oman—9999
• Republic of Moldova—902 (P), 903 (M), 901 (F)
• Senegal—800,002,020,800,001,664
• South Africa—10111 (P), 10177 (M), 10177 (F)
• Turkey—155 (P), 112 (M), 155 (F)
• Venezuala—171

No Data

• Antactica
• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Cameroon
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Greenland
• Guinea
• Guinea Bissau
• Niger
• North Korea
• Somalia
• Western Sahara—150 (M)
• Any other country not mentioned

For more information on emergency services in each country, be sure to check out the full interactive map.

Cover image via Stephen Vance