ELI5, how do telephone numbers get you to the right person?

Question

ELI5, how do telephone numbers get you to the right person?

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Answer 1

The place you call from already has a regional code that by default means the next numbers are for the same (roughly ) [continent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_country_calling_codes?wprov=sfla1).

Then depending on the format, it can cover the population in it. For exemple, North America and and Caribbean ( region +1) has up to 1000 area codes(each covering countries, local areas or a metropolitan area) inside each area codes is a 7 digit number so up to 10 million numbers.

There can be [phone] phone number meaning up to 10 billion numbers.

If the question is about phone exchanges, when you dial a phone number there are either tones or pulses that the computer of your phone company then decodes and sends to the company of the one you are dialing. Over there, it is sent to the right phone company that makes your phone ring.