112
112 is the single emergency telephone number across the European Union and several other countries.
- Even
- Composite
Where 112 fits
Why 112 is special
112 exists because emergency numbers did not converge on their own: each country had chosen digits that suited its own switching equipment long before any body could coordinate them. Rather than replace those numbers, the EU required 112 to work in parallel with them, so a traveller has one number that works everywhere without anyone losing the one they grew up with. It also reaches emergency services from any GSM handset, including one with no SIM.
Same number, different meanings
How 112 is understood across different contexts — never implying one meaning because of another.
- Mathematics
112 exists because emergency numbers did not converge on their own: each country had chosen digits that suited its own switching equipment long before any body could coordinate them. Rather than replace those numbers, the EU required 112 to work in parallel with them, so a traveller has one number that works everywhere without anyone losing the one they grew up with. It also reaches emergency services from any GSM handset, including one with no SIM.
- History
112 was adopted as the common European emergency number by Council Decision in 1991, so that a traveller need not know each country's national number. National numbers were kept in service alongside it rather than replaced.
- Everyday life
Calls to 112 are free, work from any phone regardless of network or credit, and reach an operator who routes the call to police, fire or ambulance. Where a country keeps its older number as well — 999 in Britain, 110 and 112 split between services in Germany — both are live and reach the same dispatch, so there is no wrong choice between them.
- Culture
112 works across the European Union, but national numbers remain in daily use and most people still reach for the one they grew up with. Adoption of a shared number has not displaced local practice, which is why both are taught.
- Geography
112 is not only a European number. The GSM standard requires mobile networks to route it to local emergency services, which is why it usually works on a mobile anywhere with coverage — including in countries that use different national numbers, and often from a handset that is locked or has no SIM. Several states outside the EU have adopted it outright, India among them.
- Law & regulation
112 is mandated as a universal emergency number across European Union member states (alongside any pre-existing national emergency numbers), per EU telecommunications regulation.
Not just a mathematical number
112is also used in ways where ordinary arithmetic doesn't apply — each listed below with what genuinely does and doesn't follow from it.
- Mathematical number
A genuine quantity — its mathematical properties (prime, square, factors, and so on) are real facts about it.
A genuine quantity that ordinary arithmetic applies to — it can be prime, even, a perfect square, added to another number meaningfully, and so on.
- Code
Also used as a code — EU-wide emergency services (112).
An assigned identifier from a fixed registry or standard — its digits don't represent an amount, and arithmetic on it is meaningless (HTTP status 404 + 1 is not a 'better' status; it's a different, unrelated code).
112 is part of
Factors & digit properties
- Divisors (10)
- 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 14, 16, 28, 56, 112
- Prime factorisation
- 2^4 × 7
- Digit sum
- 4
- Digital root
- 4
Representations
- Decimal
- 112
- Scientific notation
- 1.120 × 10^2
Roman numerals
C X I I
Binary
1 1 1 0 0 0 0
1 × 64 + 1 × 32 + 1 × 16 + 0 × 8 + 0 × 4 + 0 × 2 + 0 × 1 = 112
Octal
1 6 0
1 × 64 + 6 × 8 + 0 × 1 = 112
Hexadecimal
7 0
7 × 16 + 0 × 1 = 112
Read as powers of two: 64 + 32 + 16 = 112.
In historical numeral systems
Egyptian
1 coil of rope, 1 hobble, 2 strokes
1 × 100 + 1 × 10 + 2 × 1 = 112. The signs are simply repeated and added; where they sit on the line is a matter of layout, not value.
Babylonian
1 vertical wedge (sixties place), 5 corner wedges + 2 vertical wedges (units place)
1 × 60 + 52 = 112. Places are separated by a space on the tablet, with the higher place written first.
Greek (Ionic)
rho, then iota, then beta, marked as a numeral
rho-iota-beta + keraia
rho + iota + beta written in descending order and added — the letters carry their values wherever they stand, so this is addition, not place value.
Hebrew numerals
qof, then yod, then bet
qof-yod-bet
qof (100) + yod (10) + bet (2) = 112, written in descending order.
Maya
1 bar (upper, twenties place) over 2 bars + 2 dots (lower, units place)
5 × 20 + 12 = 112. Places stack vertically with the smallest at the bottom, so the upper group is worth twenty times the lower.
Systems that simply cannot reach this value are left out. Where a script needs a font most readers do not have, the reading is given instead of the glyphs — see number systems for each system in full.
Other mathematical patterns
- Abundant number
- Harshad (Niven) number
Related numbers & connections
112 is the common European emergency number, adopted by Council Decision in 1991 so a traveller need not know each country's national number.
The two numbers a traveller is most likely to confuse. 911 is North American and does not generally work elsewhere; 112 is the European standard and, because the GSM specification requires it, usually reaches emergency services from a mobile almost anywhere. Many handsets quietly map one onto the other, but that behaviour is a fallback rather than a guarantee.
View 911 →Numbers Around Us
- is used byEU-wide emergency services (112)
why?
Strength 0.50, confidence "high".
- is used byEmergency telephone numbers
why?
Strength 0.50, confidence "high".
History
112 was adopted as the common European emergency number by Council Decision in 1991, so that a traveller need not know each country's national number. National numbers were kept in service alongside it rather than replaced.
DocumentedHistoryGeography: European Union and wider EuropePeriod: 1991–112 was designated the single European emergency number by Council Decision 91/396/EEC in July 1991, so that a traveller need not know each country's own number. The digits were chosen for the technology of the time: on a rotary dial 1-1-2 is quick to enter, and on a pulse network the sequence is hard to generate accidentally — the same class of reasoning that produced 999 in Britain half a century earlier.
DocumentedHistoryGeography: European UnionPeriod: 1991
Everyday life
Calls to 112 are free, work from any phone regardless of network or credit, and reach an operator who routes the call to police, fire or ambulance. Where a country keeps its older number as well — 999 in Britain, 110 and 112 split between services in Germany — both are live and reach the same dispatch, so there is no wrong choice between them.
DocumentedEveryday lifeGeography: European UnionGSM handsets are specified to place 112 calls without a SIM card and from a locked keypad, and the call is carried by whichever network is reachable rather than the subscriber's own. The same number also reaches emergency services in many countries outside Europe.
DocumentedEveryday lifeGeography: European Union and GSM networks worldwidePeriod: 1991–
Culture
112 works across the European Union, but national numbers remain in daily use and most people still reach for the one they grew up with. Adoption of a shared number has not displaced local practice, which is why both are taught.
DocumentedCultureGeography: European UnionPeriod: 1991–
Geography
112 is not only a European number. The GSM standard requires mobile networks to route it to local emergency services, which is why it usually works on a mobile anywhere with coverage — including in countries that use different national numbers, and often from a handset that is locked or has no SIM. Several states outside the EU have adopted it outright, India among them.
DocumentedGeographyGeography: European Union, and mobile networks internationally
Law & regulation
112 is mandated as a universal emergency number across European Union member states (alongside any pre-existing national emergency numbers), per EU telecommunications regulation.
DocumentedLaw & regulationGeography: European Union
Common questions
Is 112 a prime number?
No, 112 is not prime.
What are the factors of 112?
The factors of 112 are 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 14, 16, 28, 56, 112.
What is 112 in Roman numerals?
112 in Roman numerals is CXII.
About this page's data
Mathematical facts:computed directly from the number's value — nothing to source or verify externally.
Contextual records: 7 reviewer-confirmed records, sourced and reviewed before publication.
Last reviewed: 15 July 2026