Roughly 70 countries — home to about 40% of the world's population — observe daylight saving time. The majority of the globe does not. The divide follows economic development, latitude, and historical policy choices more than geographic logic.
Countries That Observe DST
Most of North America observes DST, including the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico (though Mexico's congress voted to abolish DST in 2022, with most states ending the practice in 2023). All EU member states change their clocks twice a year. Most of South America's south (Chile, Argentina's western provinces) and some of North Africa (Morocco) observe DST as well.
Australia observes DST in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and the ACT — but not in Queensland, Western Australia, or the Northern Territory. New Zealand also observes DST.
- United States (except Arizona and Hawaii)
- Canada (except Saskatchewan and parts of British Columbia)
- European Union (all member states)
- United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland
- Australia (5 of 8 states/territories)
- Chile, Cuba, Paraguay, Uruguay
- Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Israel
- Morocco (with a Ramadan suspension)
Countries That Do Not Observe DST
The entire continent of Africa (with the exception of Morocco) does not observe DST. Neither does most of Asia — China, Japan, South Korea, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Southeast Asia all use fixed offsets year-round. Russia observed DST until 2014, then permanently switched to 'winter' time. Brazil eliminated DST in 2019.
Countries near the equator have little reason to observe DST because day length varies little across the year — the difference in sunrise and sunset times between June and December is only 30–45 minutes at the equator.
