World Insights Bringing You best of world at one placeime zones are essential for keeping a standardized time throughout the world. They were proposed by Sir Sanford Fleming in 1879, but it wasn’t until 1929 that most countries adopted world time zones. The introduction of time zones has made worldwide travel and communication far easier than ever before. Have you have ever wondered which country has the most time zones? Continue reading to find out.
Which country has the most time zones?
Although this might seem like a simple question, with a simple answer, many experts are divided on the correct answer to this question. Officially France has the most time zones, because of their outer territories (such as New Caledonia). Of course, this could change if any of these countries gain independence.
The time zones of France (UTC = Coordinated Universal Time)
- UTC-10 — French Polynesia
- UTC-09:30 — Marquesas Islands
- UTC-09 — Gambier Islands
- UTC-08 — Clipperton
- UTC-04 — Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin
- UTC-03 — French Guiana, Saint Pierre and Miquelon
- UTC+01 — Metropolitan France
- UTC+03 — Mayotte
- UTC+04 — Réunion
- UTC+05 — Kerguelen Islands
- UTC+11 — New Caledonia
- UTC+12 — Wallis and Futuna
Other countries
The United States has the next largest amount of time zones with 11 (although 2 of those are said to be unofficial). Russia is next with 9 official time zones (they have recently removed 2 times zones and adopted year round Daylight Savings Time). Australia and the United Kingdom both have 8 different time zones.
