Top 10 Countries with the Most Time Zones

Based on standard time. Offsets in 30- and 45-minute increments each count as one.

1. France — 12

Metropolitan France is just UTC+1, but overseas territories scattered across the globe make it the undisputed #1.

• UTC-10 Tahiti (French Polynesia)
• UTC-9:30 Marquesas Islands
• UTC-9 Gambier Islands
• UTC-4 Guadeloupe, Martinique
• UTC-3 French Guiana
• UTC-2 Saint Pierre and Miquelon (DST)
• UTC+1 Metropolitan France
• UTC+3 Mayotte
• UTC+4 Reunion
• UTC+5 Kerguelen (near Antarctica)
• UTC+11 New Caledonia
• UTC+12 Wallis and Futuna

2. Russia — 11

No overseas territories—pure landmass. UTC+2 to +12 with no gaps.

• UTC+2 Kaliningrad
• UTC+3 Moscow
• UTC+4 Samara
• UTC+5 Yekaterinburg
• UTC+6 Omsk
• UTC+7 Krasnoyarsk
• UTC+8 Irkutsk
• UTC+9 Yakutsk
• UTC+10 Vladivostok
• UTC+11 Magadan
• UTC+12 Kamchatka

3. United States — 11

4 mainland zones + Alaska, Hawaii, and Pacific island territories.

• UTC-12 Baker Island, Howland Island (uninhabited)
• UTC-11 American Samoa
• UTC-10 Hawaii
• UTC-9 Alaska
• UTC-8 Pacific (LA, Seattle)
• UTC-7 Mountain (Denver)
• UTC-6 Central (Chicago)
• UTC-5 Eastern (New York)
• UTC-4 Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands
• UTC+10 Guam, Northern Mariana Islands
• UTC+12 Wake Island

4. United Kingdom — 9

The remnants of the British Empire, measured in time zones.

• UTC-8 Pitcairn Islands
• UTC-5 Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos
• UTC-4 Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat
• UTC-3 Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
• UTC-2 South Georgia
• UTC+0 United Kingdom mainland
• UTC+1 Gibraltar
• UTC+2 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Cyprus)
• UTC+6 British Indian Ocean Territory

5. Australia — 8

Notable for its half-hour offsets.

• UTC+6:30 Cocos (Keeling) Islands
• UTC+7 Christmas Island
• UTC+8 Western (Perth)
• UTC+9:30 Central (Adelaide)
• UTC+10 Eastern (Sydney)
• UTC+10:30 Lord Howe Island
• UTC+11 Norfolk Island
• UTC+11:30 Macquarie Island

6. Canada — 6

Newfoundland at UTC-3:30 is unusual—one of the few places using a half-hour offset.

• UTC-8 Pacific (Vancouver)
• UTC-7 Mountain (Calgary)
• UTC-6 Central (Winnipeg)
• UTC-5 Eastern (Toronto)
• UTC-4 Atlantic (Halifax)
• UTC-3:30 Newfoundland

7. Denmark — 5

Just 1 zone for the mainland, but Greenland alone adds 4 more.

• UTC-4 Thule Air Base (Greenland)
• UTC-2 Nuuk and most of Greenland
• UTC-1 Ittoqqortoormiit (eastern Greenland)
• UTC+0 Faroe Islands
• UTC+1 Denmark mainland

8. New Zealand — 5

The Chatham Islands at UTC+12:45—one of the few 45-minute offsets in the world.

• UTC-11 Niue
• UTC-10 Cook Islands
• UTC+12 Mainland
• UTC+12:45 Chatham Islands
• UTC+13 Tokelau

9. Brazil — 4

90% of the population lives in a single time zone (UTC-3).

• UTC-5 Acre
• UTC-4 Amazon (Manaus)
• UTC-3 Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Rio
• UTC-2 Fernando de Noronha (island)

10. Mexico — 4

• UTC-8 Baja California
• UTC-7 Pacific (Chihuahua, Sinaloa)
• UTC-6 Central (Mexico City)
• UTC-5 Quintana Roo

Fun fact: China spans 5,200 km east to west but uses just 1 time zone (UTC+8).