World Time Zone Map

How time zones work

The world is divided into time zones defined by their offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Places east of the Greenwich meridian are generally ahead of UTC (UTC+1, UTC+2, and so on) and places to the west are behind it (UTC−5, UTC−8). Offsets run from about UTC−12 to UTC+14, and some regions use half-hour or 45-minute offsets. Many countries also shift their clocks for daylight saving time in part of the year.

Finding a country’s time zone

This page shows an interactive reference map rather than a coloured time-zone overlay, so the offsets it states stay accurate. Every country page on this site lists that nation’s UTC offset (or offsets, for countries that span several zones) in its facts table. Open a continent below and then a country to read its exact time zone.

UTC, GMT and working out the difference

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the modern global reference; for everyday purposes it is the same as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the older term for the time on the Greenwich meridian. To find the gap between two places, subtract their offsets: a city at UTC+9 is eight hours ahead of one at UTC+1. Daylight saving time complicates this for part of the year, since not every country observes it and those that do change on different dates. The offsets listed on each country page are the standard-time values, which gives you a reliable baseline before adjusting for any seasonal change.

Why zones do not follow straight lines

If time zones followed longitude exactly, each 15° would be one hour apart. In practice the lines bend to follow national and regional borders, so that a whole country—or a group of neighbours—can share a single clock. Some very large countries choose to keep one official time across their entire width for convenience, while a few use offsets of 30 or 45 minutes rather than a whole hour. The International Date Line, running roughly down the 180° meridian in the Pacific, also jogs around island groups so that neighbours are not split across different calendar days. Each country page records the actual offsets in use, which is why this site states zones per country rather than drawing approximate bands.