Time Zones in Africa and the Middle East
Most of Africa and the Middle East keep the same clock time all year. That makes differences inside the region stable, but it also means the gap to Europe and North America changes twice a year when they move their own clocks.
Africa: five main offsets
| Offset | Name | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| UTC+0 | Greenwich Mean Time | Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire |
| UTC+1 | West Africa Time / Central European Time | Nigeria, Algeria, Kinshasa |
| UTC+2 | Central Africa / South Africa Time | Johannesburg, Lubumbashi, Zimbabwe, Zambia |
| UTC+3 | East Africa Time | Nairobi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda |
| UTC+4 | Mauritius and Seychelles Time | Mauritius, Seychelles |
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is split between two zones: the west, including Kinshasa, is on UTC+1, and the east, including Lubumbashi, is on UTC+2.
Daylight saving time in Africa
- Egypt brought back daylight saving time in 2023. Cairo is on UTC+2 in winter and UTC+3 from late April to late October.
- Morocco stays on UTC+1 for most of the year and shifts back to UTC+0 for the month of Ramadan.
- Most other African countries do not change their clocks.
The Middle East
- Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain use UTC+3 all year.
- Türkiye uses UTC+3 all year (Istanbul).
- Iran uses UTC+3:30, a half-hour offset, and no longer changes its clocks.
- The United Arab Emirates and Oman use UTC+4 (Dubai).
- Afghanistan uses UTC+4:30.
- Israel and Lebanon change their clocks in spring and autumn.
Weekends are not the same everywhere
Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel have a Friday and Saturday weekend, while the United Arab Emirates changed to Saturday and Sunday in 2022. When you plan a meeting, check both the time and the working days of the other country. A "Friday afternoon" call may fall on a day off.
Working with Europe and Asia
Because the region sits between the two, its working day overlaps with both Europe and South Asia. The overlap with Europe shrinks or grows by an hour when Europe changes its clocks. You can compare the exact numbers in our overlap tables.
Look it up: use the World Clock to search a city or country and see its current time and offset.
Related guides
Time Zones in Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean
Canada has six time zones, Mexico four, Brazil four. See which countries change their clocks, which stopped, and how to schedule across the Americas.
UTC and Time Zone Offsets: How to Calculate Time Differences
Learn what UTC is, how to read offsets like UTC+5:30, and how to convert time between any two cities step by step.
Daylight Saving Time Explained: Why Time Differences Change
Which countries use daylight saving time, when clocks change in the US, Europe and Australia, and why gaps between cities shift for a few weeks each year.