Lost contacts

Contacts are neither stored locally on an iPhone nor in SIM. They are synced to an email account that you had Google, iCloud, AOL, Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo or any Other

1. How many Contacts account (email client server) you have?
2. What is your default Contacts Account?
3. Which email account you are using to store Contacts?

• See the GIF below for Contacts and Default Account

• Learn how to add an email account and make it default (Watch the GIF)
• This example is for Gmail but the process remains same for all Google, iCloud, AOL, Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo or any Other

What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support

iCloud backup doesn’t include information already stored in iCloud, like Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks, Mail, Notes, Voice Memos, shared photos, iCloud Photos*, Health data, call history, and files you store in iCloud Drive.