Which Countries Have the Most Time Zones? (France Has 12)
France has more time zones than any other country: 12, thanks to overseas territories scattered from the Caribbean to the South Pacific. Russia and the United States follow with 11 each. On a single continuous landmass, Russia wins easily, with 11 time zones from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific.
Key facts
- France: 12 time zones (13 if you count its Antarctic claim).
- Russia: 11 time zones, all on one landmass, more than any other country.
- United States: 11 including territories, 6 for the 50 states.
- China spans five geographic time zones but uses just one official time.
Countries with the most time zones
Counting overseas territories, these countries cover the most standard time zones:
| Country | Time zones | From west to east |
|---|---|---|
| France | 12 | French Polynesia (UTC−10) to Wallis and Futuna (UTC+12) |
| Russia | 11 | Kaliningrad (UTC+2) to Kamchatka (UTC+12) |
| United States | 11 | American Samoa (UTC−11) to Wake Island (UTC+12), counting uninhabited Baker and Howland islands (UTC−12) |
| United Kingdom | 9 | Pitcairn Islands (UTC−8) to British Indian Ocean Territory (UTC+6) |
| Australia | 9 | Cocos (Keeling) Islands (UTC+6:30) to Norfolk Island (UTC+11), counting uninhabited Heard Island (UTC+5) |
| Canada | 6 in summer, 5 in winter | Newfoundland (UTC−3:30) to British Columbia and Yukon (UTC−7) |
| Denmark | 5 | Greenland (UTC−4 to UTC) to mainland Denmark (UTC+1) |
| New Zealand | 5 | Niue (UTC−11) and the Cook Islands (UTC−10) to Tokelau (UTC+13) |
| Brazil | 4 | Acre (UTC−5) to Fernando de Noronha (UTC−2) |
| Mexico | 4 | Baja California (UTC−8) to Quintana Roo (UTC−5) |
| Indonesia | 3 | Western, Central and Eastern Indonesia Time (UTC+7 to +9) |
| Kiribati | 3 | Gilbert Islands (UTC+12) to Line Islands (UTC+14) |
France: 12 time zones and the sun never sets
Mainland France uses just one time (UTC+1, or +2 in summer). But France also governs places such as French Guiana in South America, Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean, Réunion and Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, and New Caledonia and French Polynesia in the Pacific. Those territories span 12 different offsets, more than any other country. Because of them, it is always daytime somewhere in France.
Russia: the most time zones on one landmass
Russia stretches about 9,000 km from Kaliningrad, next to Poland, to the Kamchatka Peninsula on the Pacific. When it’s 9 AM in Moscow, it’s already 6 PM in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Russia used to have 11 zones, cut them to 9 in 2010 and went back to 11 in 2014. Russia does not use daylight saving time.
The United States: 6 time zones for the 50 states
The 50 states use six time zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska and Hawaii-Aleutian. Add Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (Atlantic Time), Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (Chamorro Time), American Samoa (Samoa Time) and Wake Island, and you get 10 time zones in use, plus an 11th (UTC−12) for the uninhabited Baker and Howland islands.
Canada lost a time zone in winter 2026
Canada normally has six time zones. But in 2026, British Columbia stopped changing its clocks and now stays on UTC−7 all year, the same as Yukon. Alberta now stays on UTC−6 and Manitoba on UTC−5. As a result, from November 2026, no part of Canada uses UTC−8 in winter any more. According to our analysis of the time zone database, Canada now spans just five offsets in winter, from Newfoundland (UTC−3:30) to BC and Yukon (UTC−7). It is six in summer, when Newfoundland, the Atlantic provinces, Ontario and Quebec move their clocks forward.
That also changes the time differences inside Canada. In winter, Vancouver is now 2 hours behind Toronto instead of 3. See what changes on November 1.
Big countries with just one time zone
Some large countries use a single time zone even though they’re wide enough for several:
- China spans about 5,000 km from east to west, but uses Beijing Time (UTC+8) everywhere. In far-western Xinjiang, the sun can rise after 10 AM in winter, and many people unofficially use Xinjiang Time, two hours behind Beijing.
- India uses one time, UTC+5:30, from Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh. Read about why India is on a half-hour time zone.
- Argentina uses UTC−3 across the whole country, although most of it is geographically closer to UTC−4 or −5.
- Kazakhstan moved its whole country to one time zone, UTC+5, in 2024.
How we counted
We counted the different standard offsets from UTC used by each country, including its overseas territories, based on the official IANA time zone database (version 2026e) and national time laws. Some sources give slightly different totals, depending on whether they count uninhabited islands, Antarctic claims and unofficial local times. For Canada, we compared the offsets of every Canadian time zone in January and July 2027.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the most time zones?
France, with 12, because of its overseas territories. Russia and the United States each have 11.
Which country has the most time zones on the mainland?
Russia, with 11 time zones on one continuous landmass.
How many time zones does Canada have?
Six in summer. Since 2026, only five in winter, because British Columbia now stays on UTC−7 all year.
How many time zones does China have?
Just one, Beijing Time (UTC+8), even though the country is wide enough for five.
Compare any two places with our time zone converter, or browse all time zones.
