Countries That Don't Use Daylight Saving Time (Full List)

5 min read

While about 70 countries still change their clocks twice a year for daylight saving time, the majority of the world does not. Many nations never adopted DST in the first place, and a growing number have tried it and abandoned it. Here is the full picture.

How Many Countries Skip DST?

Of the roughly 195 recognized sovereign states, approximately 125 do not observe DST as of 2026. That is nearly two-thirds of the world's countries. The practice is concentrated in North America, Europe, and parts of Oceania. Most of Asia, Africa, and South America operate on standard time year-round.

Countries That Have Never Used DST

Many countries, particularly those near the equator, have never seen a reason to adjust clocks. Near the equator, day length barely changes throughout the year -- sunrise and sunset vary by less than an hour -- so shifting the clock would provide negligible benefit. Notable examples:

  • Japan (UTC+9): Used DST briefly during the post-WWII US occupation (1948-1951) but abandoned it due to public opposition. Has not used it since.
  • China (UTC+8): Experimented with DST from 1986-1991 but abandoned it. The country's single-timezone policy already creates enough complications.
  • India (UTC+5:30): Has never observed DST. With Mumbai and Delhi relatively close to the tropics, the daylight variation is modest.
  • South Korea (UTC+9): Last used DST during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. No plans to reinstate it.
  • Singapore (UTC+8): Geographically on the equator, making DST pointless.
  • Thailand (UTC+7): Near the equator, never adopted DST.
  • Indonesia: Three time zones, none observing DST.
  • Saudi Arabia (UTC+3): Hot climate; extra evening daylight would increase, not decrease, energy use for cooling.
  • Most African countries: Including Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania. Egypt is a notable exception -- it has oscillated, most recently reintroducing DST in 2023.
  • Most South American countries: Including Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Argentina. Chile and Paraguay are among the few that still observe DST.
  • Iceland (UTC+0): Despite being far from the equator, Iceland has never used DST. It already uses a time zone one hour west of its geographic position, providing a permanent DST-like offset.

Countries That Abolished DST

A growing list of countries have tried DST and decided it was not worth the hassle:

  • Russia (2011): Abolished DST and initially stayed on permanent summer time (DST year-round). In 2014, it switched back to permanent standard time after complaints about dark winter mornings. Russia now uses 11 time zones, none of which change clocks.
  • Turkey (2016): Moved to permanent summer time (UTC+3) in October 2016 and has not changed since. This means Turkish winters have later sunrises but later sunsets.
  • Belarus (2011): Followed Russia's lead and stays on UTC+3 permanently.
  • Morocco (2018): Adopted permanent DST (UTC+1), though it briefly reverts to UTC+0 during Ramadan. This unusual arrangement has been controversial.
  • Brazil (2019): Abolished DST after President Bolsonaro signed a decree. Most of the country is tropical, and the energy savings had become negligible.
  • Samoa (2021): Dropped DST after years of use.
  • Mexico (2022): Abolished DST nationwide, except for border cities that align with the US for practical reasons.
  • Argentina: Abandoned DST in 2009 after inconsistent implementation.
  • Azerbaijan (2016): Stopped observing DST.

Why Countries Abandon DST

The reasons are consistent across countries:

  • Minimal energy savings: The original premise -- saving energy by using more daylight -- has been undermined by modern life. Air conditioning, which uses more energy in extended daylight, was rare in 1916 but universal now. Studies show DST saves less than 1% of total energy use, and some show it increases consumption.
  • Health concerns: Research consistently links clock changes to short-term spikes in heart attacks, strokes, workplace injuries, and car accidents. Sleep disruption, even of just one hour, has measurable population-level effects.
  • Public dissatisfaction: Surveys in the EU, US, and other regions consistently show that a majority of the public wants to stop changing clocks. The disagreement is usually over which time to keep -- permanent standard or permanent DST.
  • Technical burden: Software systems, airline schedules, financial markets, and broadcast networks all have to handle DST transitions, at significant cost. Eliminating DST simplifies global coordination.
  • Equatorial irrelevance: Countries near the equator gain almost nothing from DST because their day length is naturally consistent year-round.

The Trend Toward Abolition

The global trend is clearly moving away from DST. The European Union has been debating abolition since a 2018 public consultation in which 84% of 4.6 million respondents favored ending clock changes. Implementation has been delayed by disagreements over which time to standardize on and the logistical challenge of coordinating 27 member states.

In the United States, the Sunshine Protection Act -- which would make DST permanent year-round -- passed the Senate unanimously in March 2022 but stalled in the House. Sleep scientists generally prefer permanent standard time (aligning clock time more closely with solar time), while businesses and evening-activity advocates prefer permanent DST.

For now, if you are scheduling across borders, the safest approach is to use tools that handle DST automatically. Our timezone converter and meeting planner always reflect the current DST status for every location, so you do not have to track which countries change and when.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Japan use daylight saving time?

No. Japan used DST briefly from 1948-1951 during the US occupation, but it was unpopular and abolished. Tokyo stays on JST (UTC+9) year-round.

Why doesn't Arizona observe DST?

Arizona opted out of DST in 1968 because the extra hour of evening sunlight meant higher air conditioning costs in the state's extreme heat. More daylight in the evening was a liability, not a benefit. The Navajo Nation within Arizona does observe DST, creating a quirky patchwork.

Will the EU abolish DST?

It has been proposed and widely supported since 2018, but implementation has stalled due to disagreements among member states about whether to standardize on summer or winter time. As of 2026, EU countries still change clocks twice a year, and no firm deadline for abolition has been set.