Africa Time Zones: The Complete Guide to WAT, CAT, EAT &

Why Is Lagos an Hour Ahead of Accra?

The border between Ghana and Togo is a one-hour time difference. Step across it and you move from UTC+0 to UTC+1. That single step captures the whole story: the continent's clocks are a patchwork of colonial inheritances, political choices, and geographic quirks. Knowing the offsets is useful. Knowing where the lines actually fall is what prevents a missed flight.

Africa spans UTC-1 to UTC+4 inclusive. Four designations do the heavy lifting: West Africa Time (WAT, UTC+1), Central Africa Time (CAT, UTC+2), East Africa Time (EAT, UTC+3), and South African Standard Time (SAST, UTC+2). The remaining two offsets, UTC+0 and UTC-1, apply to a smaller set of nations. UTC+4 covers a handful of island states.

The common claim that "Africa has six time zones" is true only if you count UTC-1 through UTC+4 inclusive. Most people live in a UTC+1 or UTC+2 zone. The continent's economic heartlands cluster tightly around these two.

The Four Main Africa Time Zones

West Africa Time (WAT): UTC+1

WAT runs from Senegal in the west to Chad in the east, and from Niger in the north to Angola in the south. It is the zone for Nigeria and much of Central and West Africa.

Key WAT nations include:

Nigeria (Africa/Lagos)
Cameroon (Africa/Douala)
Angola (Africa/Lagos)
Niger (Africa/Lagos)
Chad (Africa/Ndjamena)
Democratic Republic of the Congo's western half (Africa/Kinshasa)
Republic of the Congo (Africa/Brazzaville)
Gabon (Africa/Lagos)
Equatorial Guinea (Africa/Lagos)
Central African Republic (Africa/Bangui)
Benin (Africa/Lagos)
Algeria (Africa/Algiers)
Tunisia (Africa/Tunis)

WAT is UTC+1 year-round. No nation in this zone observes daylight saving time. Algeria and Tunisia use the CET label for the same offset, a naming quirk that causes confusion: CET implies European DST alignment, but neither Algiers nor Tunis changes its clocks.

Central Africa Time (CAT): UTC+2

CAT covers Central and parts of Southern Africa. It is the most widely used zone on the continent by land area.

Key CAT nations include:

Sudan (Africa/Khartoum)
South Sudan (Africa/Juba)
Democratic Republic of the Congo's eastern half (Africa/Lubumbashi)
Zambia (Africa/Lusaka)
Zimbabwe (Africa/Harare)
Botswana (Africa/Gaborone)
Namibia (Africa/Windhoek)
Mozambique (Africa/Maputo)
Malawi (Africa/Blantyre)
Burundi (Africa/Bujumbura)
Rwanda (Africa/Kigali)

South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini share this offset under the SAST label. Libya uses EET for the same UTC+2. The offset is identical. The names differ for historical reasons.

East Africa Time (EAT): UTC+3

EAT covers the East African Community and the Horn of Africa.

Key EAT nations include:

Kenya (Africa/Nairobi)
Tanzania (Africa/Dar_es_Salaam)
Uganda (Africa/Kampala)
Ethiopia (Africa/Addis_Ababa)
Somalia (Africa/Mogadishu)
Djibouti (Africa/Djibouti)
Eritrea (Africa/Asmara)
Madagascar (Africa/Nairobi)
Comoros (Africa/Nairobi)

When it is noon in London (UTC+0 in winter), it is 15:00 in Nairobi.

South African Standard Time (SAST): UTC+2

SAST is South Africa's official designation, and it is the same offset as CAT: UTC+2. The name exists for historical and political reasons, not because it is a different offset.

SAST applies to:

South Africa (Africa/Johannesburg)
Lesotho (Africa/Johannesburg)
Eswatini (Africa/Johannesburg)

Three nations. The rest of the UTC+2 block uses CAT or EET. If someone asks "Is South Africa in CAT?", the offset is identical, but the official name is SAST and the IANA entry is Africa/Johannesburg.

The Exceptions: UTC+0, UTC-1, and UTC+4

UTC+0: Ghana, Senegal, and More

Ghana is not WAT. Despite sitting in West Africa, Ghana uses Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, UTC+0). The IANA entry for Ghana is Africa/Abidjan.

Other UTC+0 nations include:

Senegal (Africa/Abidjan)
Mali (Africa/Abidjan)
Guinea (Africa/Abidjan)
Sierra Leone (Africa/Abidjan)
Liberia (Africa/Monrovia)
Guinea-Bissau (Africa/Bissau)
Mauritania (Africa/Abidjan)
Gambia (Africa/Abidjan)
Burkina Faso (Africa/Abidjan)
Togo (Africa/Abidjan)
Ivory Coast (Africa/Abidjan)
São Tomé and Príncipe (Africa/Sao_Tome)
Saint Helena (Africa/Abidjan)
Morocco (Africa/Casablanca), UTC+0 in winter, UTC+1 in summer
Western Sahara (Africa/El_Aaiun), follows Morocco's DST rules

The line between WAT and GMT runs through West Africa. Nigeria, Benin, and Niger are WAT (UTC+1). Ghana, Senegal, and Mali are GMT (UTC+0).

UTC-1: Cabo Verde

Cabo Verde is the only nation on the continent at UTC-1. The IANA entry is Atlantic/Cape_Verde.

It was originally UTC-2 but shifted to UTC-1 after independence from Portugal. No DST.

When it is noon in London, it is 11:00 in Cabo Verde, 13:00 in Accra, 14:00 in Lagos, 15:00 in Johannesburg, and 16:00 in Nairobi.

UTC+4: Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion, Mayotte

Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion, and Mayotte are UTC+4, not EAT (UTC+3).

These island states sit east of the mainland and use a different offset:

Mauritius (Indian/Mauritius)
Seychelles (Asia/Dubai)
Reunion (Asia/Dubai)
Mayotte (Africa/Nairobi)

When it is 15:00 in Nairobi (EAT), it is 16:00 in Port Louis.

Africa Time Zone Map and Visual Reference

A quick reference for the six offsets:

Offset	Designation	Example Nations
UTC-1	,	Cabo Verde
UTC+0	GMT	Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Morocco (winter)
UTC+1	WAT	Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, DRC (west)
UTC+2	CAT / SAST / EET	South Africa, Sudan, Libya
UTC+3	EAT	Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia
UTC+4	,	Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion, Mayotte

The Democratic Republic of the Congo spans two actual offsets: UTC+1 in the west (Kinshasa) and UTC+2 in the east (Lubumbashi). The IANA database lists four entries for the DRC, but two are aliases.

Why Does Africa Use These Time Zone Offsets?

The continent's zones are a colonial inheritance. European powers imposed their home offsets on their colonies, and most nations kept those offsets after independence.

French West Africa used UTC+0. That is why Senegal, Mali, and Guinea are still on GMT. British colonies generally adopted GMT-based offsets. Nigeria and Ghana were both British, but Nigeria ended up at UTC+1 and Ghana at UTC+0. Portuguese territories like Cabo Verde and Mozambique inherited Lisbon's offset: Cabo Verde at UTC-1, Mozambique at UTC+2.

The African Union has formally recognised WAT, CAT, and EAT as designations. No formal continental time coordination body exists. Each nation sets its own policy. Changes are notified to the IANA time zone database via the tz mailing list.

IANA Time Zone Entries for the Continent

The IANA time zone database (also called tzdata or zoneinfo) is the authoritative source for time zone definitions worldwide. For the continent, it lists entries like Africa/Lagos, Africa/Nairobi, and Africa/Johannesburg.

Key points about the IANA entries:

Some zones are aliases. Africa/Asmara is an alias for Africa/Nairobi. They point to the same offset and rules.
Zone count per nation reflects IANA entries, not actual time diversity. The DRC has two actual offsets but four IANA entries listed. Ghana has one actual time but two IANA entries.
Some entries use European names. Africa/Algiers is listed as CET (UTC+1), and Africa/Tunis is also CET. Africa/Tripoli is EET (UTC+2). These are the same offsets as WAT and CAT but with different names because of European alignment.

The database is updated regularly. As of October 2026, the key entries are:

Africa/Algiers: UTC+1 (CET)
Africa/Lagos: UTC+1 (WAT)
Africa/Gaborone: UTC+2 (CAT)
Africa/Abidjan: UTC+0 (GMT)
Africa/Bujumbura: UTC+2 (CAT)
Atlantic/Cape_Verde: UTC-1
Africa/Douala: UTC+1 (WAT)
Africa/Bangui: UTC+1 (WAT)
Africa/Ndjamena: UTC+1 (WAT)
Africa/Nairobi: UTC+3 (EAT)
Africa/Kinshasa: UTC+1 (WAT)
Africa/Djibouti: UTC+3 (EAT)
Africa/Cairo: UTC+3 (EEST, Egypt observes DST)
Africa/Asmara: UTC+3 (EAT)
Africa/Johannesburg: UTC+2 (SAST)
Africa/Addis_Ababa: UTC+3 (EAT)
Africa/Bissau: UTC+0 (GMT)
Africa/Monrovia: UTC+0 (GMT)
Africa/Tripoli: UTC+2 (EET)
Africa/Blantyre: UTC+2 (CAT)
Indian/Mauritius: UTC+4
Africa/Casablanca: UTC+0 (Morocco observes DST)
Africa/Maputo: UTC+2 (CAT)
Africa/Windhoek: UTC+2 (CAT)
Africa/Brazzaville: UTC+1 (WAT)
Africa/Kigali: UTC+2 (CAT)
Africa/Sao_Tome: UTC+0 (GMT)
Africa/Mogadishu: UTC+3 (EAT)
Africa/Juba: UTC+2 (CAT)
Africa/Khartoum: UTC+2 (CAT)
Africa/Dar_es_Salaam: UTC+3 (EAT)
Africa/Tunis: UTC+1 (CET)
Africa/Kampala: UTC+3 (EAT)
Africa/El_Aaiun: UTC+0
Africa/Lusaka: UTC+2 (CAT)
Africa/Harare: UTC+2 (CAT)

Does the Continent Observe Daylight Saving Time?

Most of the continent does not observe DST. The bulk of the landmass sits near the equator, so daylight hours barely shift between seasons. Changing clocks would save little energy and disrupt daily life.

The exceptions:

Morocco observes DST from April to October (UTC+1), returning to UTC+0 for the winter. During Ramadan, Morocco suspends DST and returns to UTC+0 for the holy month.
Egypt observes EEST (UTC+3) from late April to late October, then returns to EET (UTC+2).
Western Sahara follows Morocco's rules.

No other nation changes its clocks. Namibia used DST until 2017 and now stays fixed at CAT. Libya trialled DST in 2013 and abandoned it the same year. Tunisia used it from 2005 to 2008 and abolished it in 2009. Mauritius tried it in 2008 and 2009 only.

Common Misconceptions About Africa Time Zones

"Ghana is WAT"

Wrong. Ghana is UTC+0 (GMT), not WAT (UTC+1). This is the most common error. The border between Ghana and Togo is a one-hour difference.

"SAST is a different offset from CAT"

No. SAST and CAT are both UTC+2. The names exist for political and historical reasons.

"Kenya is EAT, so all of East Africa is EAT"

South Sudan is CAT (UTC+2), not EAT (UTC+3). Ethiopia and Uganda are EAT, but South Sudan chose CAT upon independence in 2011.

"Mauritius and Seychelles are EAT"

They are UTC+4, one hour ahead of EAT.

"Africa has six time zones"

Counting UTC-1 through UTC+4 inclusive gives six offsets. Four of those cover the vast majority of the population and economy.

"CET means DST applies"

Algeria and Tunisia use CET (UTC+1). Neither observes DST. The abbreviation is misleading.

Scheduling Across the Continent: What to Check

Check the specific nation, not the region. "West Africa" does not tell you whether it is UTC+0 or UTC+1. Ghana and Nigeria are an hour apart.

Know the three main offsets. UTC+1 (WAT), UTC+2 (CAT/SAST), and UTC+3 (EAT) cover most of the continent. If you know these three, you can work out most time differences.

Remember the outliers. Cabo Verde (UTC-1), Ghana (UTC+0), and Mauritius and Seychelles (UTC+4) do not fit the neat WAT/CAT/EAT picture.

Forget DST, mostly. Unless you are dealing with Morocco, Egypt, or Western Sahara, clocks do not change.

When scheduling calls with the US, morning Eastern Time equals afternoon in WAT and CAT zones. For Europe, morning CET aligns with late morning or early afternoon across much of the continent. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange runs 09:00 to 17:00 SAST (UTC+2). The Nigerian Exchange opens 09:30 to 14:30 WAT (UTC+1). Forex traders watching the London/New York overlap see it fall between 14:00 and 18:00 WAT, 15:00 and 19:00 CAT, and 16:00 and 20:00 EAT.

Africa Time Zones: The Bottom Line

The continent spans six offsets, but four designations cover the bulk of it: WAT (UTC+1), CAT (UTC+2), EAT (UTC+3), and SAST (UTC+2, same as CAT).

The next clock change affecting readers is Egypt's return to EET in late October 2026, when Cairo shifts from EEST (UTC+3) back to EET (UTC+2). Morocco will also shift from UTC+1 to UTC+0 around the same time. If you are scheduling across these nations, check the exact dates before confirming: they change yearly.

For everything else, the IANA database has the final word. Look up the specific zone name (Africa/Lagos, Africa/Nairobi, Africa/Johannesburg) rather than relying on abbreviations. The abbreviation might be wrong. The zone name will not be.