The time zone is generally defined as a region of the globe that has the same standard time. Each time zone is calculated based on Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, which represents the primary time pattern in the world. In this selection the 10 countries with the highest number of time zones are highlighted, considering World Atlas data that counted the time zones for the overseas territories of the countries as well. Note that each time zone is declared UTC offset and used as a standard time in a particular country or territory. Source: allunitconverters.com
10. MEXICO
Since 2015, Mexico has officially 4 time zones. The UTC-06: 00 time zone covers most of central Mexico, including its main cities, Mexico City and Guadalajara. The UTC-05: 00 time zone is used in southeastern regions of the country, while UTC-07: 00 is used in the Pacific area covering Baja California Sur and Chihuahua, etc. The northwest region, including Tijuana, uses the UTC-08: 00 time zone.
9. BRAZIL
The number of time zones in Brazil is 4. As with Mexico, Brazil uses 4 time zones. UTC-02: 00 is used on a couple of small islands in the country. UTC-03: 00 is used in most of Brazil, 60% of the territory of the country, including the country’s capital, Brasília. This is the main time zone in the country and 94% of the population live in this time zone. The 2 time zones remaining are UTC-04: 00 and UTC-05: 00 used in the western parts of the country.
8. NEW ZEALAND
There are 5 time zones for New Zealand. Although the main island and territory of New Zealand only uses the time zone UTC + 12: 00, there are 4 more time zones used by other islands that are considered as territory of the country. The Chatham Islands, located southeast of Main Island, use UTC + 12: 45. To the far east of the main island, there are 3 more New Zealand territories; Tokelau, Cook Islands, and Niue. These territories use UTC + 13: 00, UTC-10: 00 and UTC-11: 00 respectively. The main island of New Zealand and the Chatam Islands use daylight saving time.
7. DENMARK
Denmark has 5 time zones, this is mainly due to Greenland, which is responsible for 4 of them. Although Greenland has a degree of autonomy, Danish governments still control the most important aspects of governing the territory.
6. CANADA
There are 6 time zones for Canada. Being such a large country, it is natural that Canada has these many time zones. UTC-08: 00 applies to the region located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and mainly uses summer time. UTC-7: 00 is used in British Columbia, parts of the Nunavut and Alberta region, with the latter using daylight saving time.
5. AUSTRALIA
Australia’s number of time zones is 8. Continental Australia uses 3 different time zones. The western part of Australia uses UTC + 08: 00, no daylight saving time. The central part of Australia uses UTC + 09: 30, with the south region using daylight saving time. The eastern part uses UTC + 10: 00 and as in the central part, the south region uses daylight saving time. Its spindles are scattered on the several smaller islands that make up the country.
4. U.K.
For the UK there are 9 time zones. The main part of the United Kingdom stubbornly uses Greenwich Mean Time, although geographically it belongs to the Central European Time which corresponds to UTC + 01: 00. There were multiple initiatives to abandon Greenwich Mean Time, but none of them came to a conclusion, except for the short experimental period from 1968 to 1971. Another 8 time zones are used by the overseas territories around the world. If you do not know, the UK is one of the countries with the most islands in the world .
3. RUSSIA
The number of time zones in Russia is 11, being this third position in this selection of the 10 countries with the greatest number of time zones. Over the years there have been many changes when it comes to time zones and time tracking in the largest country in the world . The time zone limits changed 7 times, the first change occurred in 1993 and the last change in 2016. Since March 2011, Russia has abandoned the practice of daylight saving time, labeling it as impractical. There were also abolishations and reinstallation of some time zones.
2. U.S.
There are 11 time zones for the United States, which are second in this selection, of the 10 countries with the greatest number of time zones. Although by law, there are 9 time zones in the United States, in fact there are 2 more. These time zones are used in the Lesser Isles of the United States and Antarctic research stations. Of the 9 that are defined by law, 4 belong to the continent.
1. FRANCE
The number of time zones of France is 12, being this country leading position in this selection, of the 10 countries with greater number of time zones. Continental France uses UTC + 01: 00 as standard time and UTC + 02: 00 as daylight saving time. But there are 13 overseas territories of France that use 11 different time zones, ranging from French Guiana to their UTC-03: 00, Réunion using UTC + 03: 00 to UTC + 12: 00 used by Wallis and Futuna. Somehow, the feeling is that France cheated their way into this selection. All of these different time zones should be a real problem for the French government, but they are guilty of wanting to have territories all over the world.
