To ensure the delivery of your message, there are several factors you need to consider. The percentage of delivering an SMS can either increase or decrease due to grey routes, spam filters, and mobile number portability.

Planning your campaigns is the first step. Making any mistakes can significantly decrease delivery rates. However, you can easily avoid the problem by reviewing and maintaining the correct formats while using our Communication Platform.

Key Factors That Influence SMS Delivery 

FactorImpact
Number FormatImproperly formatted numbers (wrong prefix or length) can lead to rejection.
Traffic RoutingUsing unreliable or grey routes can lower delivery rates and message quality.
Spam Filters & ContentCertain keywords may trigger operator spam filters. Use clean, approved language.
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)Messages may be routed incorrectly if MNP is not handled properly.
Timing and FrequencySending during operator maintenance windows or overloading a recipient can cause failures.

Sending messages with the correct formats

Sending SMS to a number with a wrong format, such as a wrong prefix or wrong number length, will cause the SMS to fail. Performing regular cleanup of your database is recommended to maintain a high delivery rate and lower unnecessary costs. Check below for a list of some countries with their number lengths. You can use this to remove or check numbers in your database that are too long or too short.


Digit length by country

#
Country
MCC
Digit Length
#
Country
MCC
Digit Length
1
Afghanistan
412
11
82
Kuwait
419
11
2
Albania
276
12
83
Kyrgyzstan
437
12
3
Algeria
603
12
84
Laos
457
12
4
Angola
631
11-12
85
Latvia
247
11
5
Argentina
722
12
86
Lebanon
415
11
6
Armenia
283
11
87
Lesotho
651
11
7
Aruba
363
10
88
Liberia
618
12
8
Australia
505
11
89
Libya
606
12
9
Austria
232
12
90
Lithuania
246
11
10
Azerbaijan
400
12
91
Luxembourg
270
15
11
Bahrain
426
11
92
Macao
455
10-11
12
Bangladesh
470
12
93
Madagascar
646
12
13
Barbados
342
11
94
Malawi
650
12
14
Belarus
257
12-13
95
Maldives
472
10
15
Belize
702
10
96
Mali
610
11
16
Benin
616
11
97
Malta
278
11
17
Bermuda
350
11
98
Mauritania
609
11
18
Bosnia and Herzegovina
218
11
99
Mauritius
617
11
19
Botswana
652
11
100
Mexico
334
12
20
Brazil
724
13
101
Moldova
259
11
21
Brunei
528
10
102
Monaco, Kosovo, and Western Sahara
212
11
22
Burkina Faso
613
11
103
Mongolia
428
11
23
Burundi
642
11
104
Morocco
604
12
24
Cabo Verde
625
10
105
Mozambique
643
12
25
Cambodia
456
11-12
106
Myanmar
414
12
26
Cameroon
624
12
107
Namibia
649
12
27
Chad
622
11
108
Nepal
429
11
28
Chile
730
11
109
New Zealand
530
10-12
29
China
460
13
110
Nicaragua
710
11
30
Colombia
732
12
111
Niger
614
11
31
Congo
629
12
112
Nigeria
621
13
32
Congo, DRC
630
12
113
Norway
242
10
33
Cook Islands
584
8
114
Oman
422
11
34
Costa Rica
712
11
115
Pakistan
410
12
35
Cote d'Ivoire
612
13
116
Palestine
425
12
36
Croatia
219
9-12
117
Paraguay
744
12
37
Cuba
368
10
118
Peru
716
11
38
Cyprus
280
11
119
Poland
260
11
39
Czech Republic
230
12
120
Qatar
427
11
40
Djibouti
638
11
121
Russia
250
11
41
Ecuador
740
12
122
Rwanda
635
12
42
Egypt
602
12
123
Saudi Arabia
420
12
43
El Salvador
706
11
124
Senegal
608
12
44
Equatorial Guinea
627
12
125
Serbia
220
15
45
Estonia
248
11
126
Seychelles
633
10
46
Ethiopia
636
12
127
Sierra Leone
619
11
47
Fiji
542
10
128
Slovakia
231
12
48
Finland
244
11-13
129
Slovenia
293
11
49
France
208
11
130
Somalia
637
12
50
French Guiana
340
12
131
South Africa
655
11
51
French Polynesia
547
11
132
South Sudan
659
12
52
Gabon
628
11
133
Sri Lanka
413
9
53
Gambia
607
10
134
Sudan
634
12
54
Georgia
282
12
135
Suriname
746
10
55
Germany
262
13
136
Syria
417
12
56
Ghana
620
12
137
Taiwan
466
10-12
57
Gibraltar
266
11
138
Tajikistan
436
12
58
Greece
202
11
139
Tanzania
640
12
59
Greenland
290
9
140
Thailand
520
11
60
Guadeloupe
340
12
141
Timor-Leste
514
11
61
Guatemala
704
10
142
Togo
615
11
62
Guinea
611
12
143
Trinidad and Tobago
374
11
63
Guinea-Bissau
632
12
144
Tunisia
605
11
64
Guyana
738
10
145
Turkey
286
12
65
Haiti
372
11
146
Turkmenistan
438
11
66
Honduras
708
11
147
Uganda
641
12
67
Hungary
216
11
148
Ukraine
255
12
68
Indonesia
510
11-12
149
United Arab Emirates
424
12
69
Iran
432
12
150
United Kingdom
234
12
70
Iraq
418
13
151
United States
310
11
71
Israel
425
12
152
Uruguay
748
11
72
Italy
222
11-12
153
Uzbekistan
434
12
73
Jamaica
338
11
154
Venezuela
734
12
74
Japan
440
12
155
Vietnam
452
11
75
Jordan
416
12
156
Yemen
421
12
76
Kazakhstan
401
11
157
Zambia
645
12
77
Kenya
639
12
158
Zimbabwe
648
12
78
Kosovo
221
11



Bonus Tips for Delivery Success

 

TipWhy It Matters
Use approved Sender IDsSome countries require pre-registration
Choose direct or premium routesThey offer higher reliability than grey routes
Monitor DLR statusesIdentify delivery failures and optimize routing
Secure your platformAvoid misuse or high-risk content sent from your account
Use throttling wiselySending too many messages too fast may trigger rate limits


Still Need Help? 

Please contact: support@cequens.com
Include sample message logs, country destinations, and recent message_ids