Time zone facts: the clock as a border
Time zones are a political instrument that looks like a scientific one. Countries widen them, shift them and abolish them for reasons of trade and identity, which is how a single nation ends up on one clock across half a continent.
Kiribati straddles the international date line. What did it do about it in 1995?
Bent the line east
Kiribati's islands sat on both sides of the line, so parts of the country were a full day apart. In 1995 it pushed the line east around its territory, creating the world's furthest-forward time zone at UTC+14.
Source: Republic of Kiribati, 1994 proclamation effective 1 January 1995
Nepal's time zone is offset from UTC by how much?
5 hours 45 minutes
Nepal uses UTC+5:45, one of the few quarter-hour offsets in the world. It is set to the local mean time of Gaurishankar, near Kathmandu, which also keeps it visibly distinct from India's UTC+5:30.
Source: IANA time zone database, Asia/Kathmandu
Which country spans the most time zones?
France, with 12
Counting its overseas territories from French Polynesia to Réunion, France spans 12 time zones, one more than Russia's 11. China spans five geographically but runs the whole country on a single clock.
Source: IANA time zone database; French overseas collectivities
How many time zones does China officially use?
One
China spans about 5,000 km east to west but runs entirely on Beijing time, UTC+8. In the far west that means the sun can rise after 10 am by the clock.
Source: IANA time zone database, Asia/Shanghai
How many time zone offsets are actually in use around the world?
About 38
Twenty-four is the tidy answer and the wrong one. Half-hour and quarter-hour offsets in India, Nepal, Iran, parts of Australia and elsewhere, plus offsets beyond UTC+12, bring the real count to around 38.
Source: IANA time zone database
Counting only its mainland, which country crosses the most time zones?
Russia, with 11
Russia's mainland runs across 11 zones from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka. France spans 12 but only by counting overseas territories.
Source: IANA time zone database
What time is it at the South Pole?
Whatever it chooses
All meridians meet at the pole, so there is no natural time zone. Amundsen-Scott Station uses New Zealand time because its flights come from Christchurch.
Source: US Antarctic Program station information