Country Guides

A country is not a time zone. Some run several, a few run one across a span of longitude that would comfortably justify three, and inside a single country the daylight saving rules can change from one state or province to the next.

Each guide here takes one country or region and sets out the zones it uses, the offsets in winter and summer, which regions are split, and where daylight saving applies. The United States and Europe are the two that come up most often in scheduling; Australia and Canada are where internal disagreement about daylight saving causes the most confusion; and India explains a single national clock, its half-hour offset, and the argument about a second zone that has run for decades.

Guides in this section (6)

Time Zones in the United States Explained Six zones across the states and territories, which states are split down the middle, and where daylight saving does not apply at all.

Time Zones in Australia Explained Three main zones, a half-hour offset through the centre, and states that have never agreed about daylight saving.

Time Zones in Europe Explained Why a continent narrow enough for one zone uses four, and where the awkward borders and political exceptions fall.

Time Zones in the United Kingdom Explained GMT, BST and the overseas territories that stretch British time from the Caribbean to the Pacific.

Time Zones in Canada Explained Six zones, Saskatchewan on permanent standard time, and the half-hour offset that Newfoundland has kept for over a century.

Time Zones in India Explained One clock for a country that spans nearly 30 degrees of longitude, its half-hour offset, and the long argument about a second zone.

Other guide sections

This is one of 8 sections in the library. The others cover Time Zones, Daylight Saving Time (DST), Business & Remote Work, Travel, Interesting Facts, City Comparison and Time & Astronomy. The guides index lists every article we have published in one place.