Which Country Has the Most Time Zones?
The frontrunner is a country that, at first glance, looks too small to have multiple time zones. We’ll give you a hint: It’s in Europe.
The country with the most time zones in the world is the home of Mont-Saint-Michel.
©bigstockphoto.com/lbryan
It’s Not Russia
If you like to do the quiz in the Sunday morning newspaper, this could easily be one of the questions you’ll have to answer. You would probably also guess the wrong answer.
Contrary to popular belief, the answer is not Russia.
True enough: Russia’s vast expanse, stretching from Europe in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east, covers a staggering range of longitudes. This results in significant time zone diversity, spanning an impressive 11 time zones.
However, one country has even more time zones than Russia.
One Country, 12 Time Zones
With its 12 local time zones, France has the most time zones in the world.
The main part of the country, La France métropolitaine, which lies in central Europe and includes the capital Paris, spans only one time zone: Central European Time (CET) applies here in winter as standard time, and Central European Summer Time (CEST) takes effect during the summer.
France métropolitaine spans only one time zone, UTC+1. The remaining 11 time zones are added by France’s dependencies (La France d’Outre-Mer). When Saint-Pierre and Miquelon observes Daylight Saving Time (DST), a 13th local time is added to the count.
©timeanddate.com
However, French territory includes dozens of non-European territories, such as overseas territories (La France d’Outre-Mer). Most of these areas are former French colonies and are made up of archipelagos in three of the world’s oceans:
- Pacific: French Polynesia and New Caledonia
- Atlantic: Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Martin and Guadeloupe
- Indian Ocean: Réunion and Mayotte
Additionally, French Guiana in South America and a strip of Antarctica are also counted as part of France.
This results in a national territory with a relatively small land mass but a much greater geographical range, extending from UTC -10 hours in French Polynesia to UTC +12 hours in Wallis and Futuna.
Russia and the USA in Second Place
Even with its widely scattered islets, France only just beats both Russia and the USA when it comes to the number of time zones:
- Russia: 11 time zones from UTC+2 in Kaliningrad to UTC+12 in e.g., Kamchatka.
- The USA: 11 time zones from UTC-12 in Baker Island to UTC +12 in Wake Island.
While France and its dependencies span 12 time zones, Russia holds another world record: Ten of its 11 time zones cover a contiguous landmass—only the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, wedged between Lithuania and Poland, breaks that pattern.
Countries with More than Two Time Zones
The following places follow France, Russia, and the USA (number of time zones in brackets):
- United Kingdom and Australia (9 each)
- Canada (6)
- Denmark (5)
- Brazil and Mexico (4 each)
- New Zealand, Indonesia and Kiribati (3 each)
There are also large countries with a single time zone, like China.
Despite being almost the same size laterally as the continental USA, China only has a single time zone. This time zone—called China Standard Time (CST)—would typically warrant five 15-degree time zones based on its longitudinal dimensions.
©timeanddate.com
How Many Time Zones in the World?
If time zones were strictly one hour apart, the world would accommodate 24 of them. However, the reality is more complex, and the number of time zones is higher than 24. Find out how many they are.
Time zones are not to be confused with UTC, which is a Time Standard.
Back to your breakfast and the quiz in the Sunday morning newspaper: Let’s hope you’ll get a question about France’s time zones to show off some of your new knowledge. Good luck!