December 31, 2025 | 06:06 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The world doesn’t simply move through space; instead, each region slips into its own rhythm of time, weather, and seasonal shifts. Every year in late December, this cosmic phenomenon sparks the same perennial curiosity: what is the first country to celebrate the New Year?
For astronomy enthusiasts, it is easy to tell why Kiribati became the first nation to usher in a new beginning. To further trace the path of midnight, let's learn some insights from World Population Review, The Sun, Parade, and other reputable sources here.
Kiribati is the First Country to Celebrate the New Year
The first country to celebrate the New Year is Kiribati, which is notable for being the only country spanning all four hemispheres. Its 33 islands and atolls stretch across such an expanse of ocean that the International Date Line bends eastward to keep the archipelago on the same calendar day.
Kiribati rings in the New Year so far ahead of the United States that nearly a full day passes before the mainland catches up. When the islands enter 2026 at midnight, it is only 5:00 a.m. on December 31, 2025, in New York.
About 45 minutes later, cities such as Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand, and Nuku’alofa in Tonga follow suit, all while it remains 6:00 a.m. on December 31 in New York.
List of the First Countries to Celebrate the New Year
Thanks to the world’s 38 time zones, it takes a full 26 hours for the New Year to sweep across the globe. The Sun UK provides a comprehensive snapshot of the first and last countries to welcome 2026, with all times standardized to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
December 31 (GMT)
Kiribati - 10 am
New Zealand’s Chatham Islands - 10:15 am
New Zealand’s Mainland - 11:00 am
Fiji - 12:00 pm
The majority of Australia - 1 pm
Australia’s Queensland - 2 pm
Northern part of Australia - 2:30 pm
Japan, South Korea, North Korea - 3 pm
China, Philippines, Singapore - 4 pm
Indonesia, Thailand - 5 pm
Myanmar, Cocos Islands - 5:30 pm
Bangladesh - 6 pm
Nepal - 6:15 pm
Much of India - 6:30 pm
Pakistan - 7 pm
Afghanistan - 7:30 pm
Azerbaijan - 8 pm
Iran - 8:30 pm
Russia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Turkey - 9 pm
Greece, Israel - 10 pm
Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy - 11 pm
UK, Iceland, Portugal - Midnight
January 1 (GMT)
Greenland - 2 am
Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay - 3 am
Parts of Canada, Venezuela, Puerto Rico - 4 am
The majority of East Coast USA (New York and Washington DC) - 5 am
Mexico - 6 am
West Coast USA - 8 am
Honolulu - 10 am
Read: 5 Global New Year Traditions You Can Try at Home
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Which Countries Are First and Last to Celebrate New Year?
31 Desember 2024
The existence of global time zones means different countries are likely to celebrate the New Year of 2025 at different times.
