Earth’s 24 Time Zones
Have you ever wondered how many time zones there are on Earth? Earth has a total of 24 main time zones, with variations of those time zones depending on latitude. Each zone stretches over 15 degrees of longitude.
The time zone setup starts with Universal Coordinated Time (Greenwich Mean Time), and every subsequent zone as you travel east increases by another hour. The following are the 24 zones in the order in which they travel around the globe.
1. Universal Coordinated Time (UTC)/Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
The UTC zone sits directly over the Greenwich Meridian line on the globe. This time zone, when in standard time areas, includes cities such as Dublin, London, Lisbon, Belfast, and Cardiff.
2. European Central Time (ECT)
Also known as UTC+1:00, this time zone is directly east of UTC. European Central Time is used in locations across Denmark, Germany, France, Albania, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Norway, Poland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, among others.
In certain African countries, this time zone is used but instead referred to as West Africa Time (WAT).
3. Eastern European Time (EET)
Also known as UTC+2:00, the Eastern European Time zone sits directly east of the European Central Time zone. While Libya uses this time zone year-round, other countries only use it in certain seasons. For example, it’s only used in wintertime in Finland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Lebanon, and Syria, among others.
When in Egypt, this time zone is used year-round but referred to as (Arabic) Egypt Standard Time or ART.
4. Eastern African Time (EAT)
As UTC+3:00, this time zone is three hours ahead of UTC. Between this time zone and the next, there is technically another time zone called Middle East Time (MET), which is actually UTC+3:30.
But EAT itself is used in Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
5. Near East Time (NET)
Near East Time is UTC+4:00 and is used in various major global cities. You’ll find it being used in Dubai, Tbilisi, Abu Dhabi, Baku, Yerevan, Samara, Port Louis, Muscat, Victoria, and Saint-Denis, among others.
6. Pakistan Lahore Time (PLT)
Pakistan Lahore Time – or UTC+5:00 – is used in South Asian countries such as Pakistan and the Maldives. It’s also used in certain provinces in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, parts of Russia, certain bases in Antarctica, and other locations.
Before you reach the next time zone, some locations observe UTC+5:30 (India Standard Time).
7. Bangladesh Standard Time (BST)
This is UTC+6:00, and it’s the official time zone of Bangladesh, as you might assume. It’s also used in Bhutan, parts of Kazakhstan, the Siberian Federal District in Russia, the Australian Antarctic Territory, and other locations.
8. Vietnam Standard Time (VST)
Vietnam Standard Time – which is 7 hours ahead of UTC – is the main time zone in Vietnam. Otherwise, it’s widely used in parts of Mongolia, Western Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Christmas Island Australia, and parts of Russia and Antarctica.
9. China Taiwan Time (CTT)
The next time zone east is China Taiwan Time or UTC+8.00. It’s also referred to as Taipei Time or Taiwan Time in Taiwan.
While it is mainly used by Taiwan and mainland China, it’s also used in Brunei, parts of Indonesia, eastern districts of Russia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Western Australia.
10. Japan Standard Time (JST)
At UTC+9:00, you get to Japan Standard Time, which is obviously used in Japan. The time zone includes cities like Tokyo, Seoul, Dili, Yokohama, Hiroshima, and Pyongyang.
Before you reach UTC+10:00, you encounter places that use UTC+9:30/Australia Central Time (ACT), such as New South Wales, Australia’s Northern Territory, and South Australia.
11. Australia Eastern Time (AET)
Exactly 10 hours ahead of UTC, Australia Eastern Time is used by such notable cities as Gold Coast Brisbane. It’s also used in parts of Micronesia, Melanesia, and certain international bases in Antarctica.
12. Solomon Standard Time (SST)
Next is SST – otherwise known as UTC+11:00. This time is mainly used by the Solomon Islands, but it’s also used by certain Pacific Ocean islands and far eastern Russian locations.
13. New Zealand Standard Time (NST)
New Zealand uses a different time zone than Australia, and it’s 12 hours ahead of UTC. Along with New Zealand’s main islands, the time zone is used year-round in cities including Mata Utu, South Tarawa, Yaren, and Majuro.
14. Midway Islands Time (MIT)
At this point, the UTC numbers change to (-), and this time zone is labeled as UTC-11:00. It’s also known as Samoa Time and is used by American Samoa, Niue, and United States minor outlying islands.
15. Hawaii Standard Time (HST)
Also known as UTC-10:00, Hawaii Standard Time is mainly used in Hawaii, Alaska, the Cook Islands, and parts of French Polynesia.
16. Alaska Standard Time (AST)
Just east of HST is UTC-9:00, which is used by Alaska with the exception of the Aleutian Islands lying west of 169.30°W. It’s principally used in Anchorage, Alaska.
17. Pacific Standard Time (PST)
Set 8 hours behind UTC, Pacific Standard Time accounts for much of the United States western coast. Parts of Western Canada and Western Mexico also use this time zone.
18. Phoenix Standard Time (PNT)/Mountain Standard Time (MST)
Both of these time zones are UTC-7:00. In North America, it’s used by Canada’s Northwest Territories, Alberta province, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Utah, Baja California, and various other locales.
19. Central Standard Time (CST)
Also called UTC-6:00, CST is used throughout the central regions of North America, as well as Central America and some Caribbean Islands.
20. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
EST is 5 hours behind UTC and includes such locations as the eastern U.S., eastern Canada, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and certain Atlantic Islands.
21. Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands Time (PRT)
UTC-4:00 is also called the Atlantic Time Zone and includes Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, New Brunswick in Canada, and several other North American locations.
22. Argentina Standard Time (AGT)/Brazil Eastern Time (BET)
Time zone UTC-3:00 includes Denmark, parts of France, parts of Canada, Bermuda, and more.
23. UTC-2:00
This time zone is technically not used by any locales.
24. Central African Time (CAT)
This time zone (UTC-1:00) is used in southern and central African countries, including Rwanda, Sudan, Malawi, Botswana, Burundi, Mozambique, and others.
