When the iconic ball drops in New York City’s Times Square to mark the start of 2025, many countries across the globe will already have celebrated the New Year.
The first to welcome 2025 is Kiribati, an island nation in the central Pacific. Its largest island, Kiritimati, kicks off the celebrations when it’s still just 5 a.m. on December 31 on the East Coast of the United States (11 a.m. UTC).
Shortly after, the Chatham Islands in New Zealand ring in the New Year at 5:15 a.m. ET, followed by the rest of New Zealand at 6 a.m., along with Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati’s Phoenix Islands, and parts of Antarctica.
On the flip side, Hawaii, American Samoa, and several U.S. outlying islands will be among the last to celebrate. They’ll have to wait until Wednesday morning (Eastern Time) to toast 2025.
With 39 distinct local time zones in use worldwide—including some offset by 15 or 30 minutes—it takes 26 hours for the entire globe to officially welcome the New Year. Two of these zones are more than 12 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), ensuring the celebration spans more than a full day.
For those who can’t get enough of “Auld Lang Syne,” the New Year’s Eve countdowns keep rolling in waves across the planet.
Here’s a breakdown of when different regions ring in the New Year, relative to Eastern Time.
5 a.m. ET
Kiritimati (Christmas Island), part of the Micronesian nation of Kiribati, is the first to ring in the New Year.
5:15 a.m. ET
The Chatham Islands, located off the eastern coast of New Zealand, follow shortly after.
6 a.m. ET
Most of New Zealand (excluding a few exceptions), along with Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati’s Phoenix Islands, and parts of Antarctica, join in the celebrations.
7 a.m. ET
Fiji, a small region of eastern Russia, and several Pacific islands, including the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, welcome 2025.
8 a.m. ET
Much of Australia, including Melbourne and Sydney, ushers in the New Year, along with Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia.
8:30 a.m. ET
A small part of Australia, including Adelaide, begins its celebrations.
9 a.m. ET
Australia’s Queensland state, along with several other locations such as parts of Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, a small section of Antarctica, and more, ring in the New Year.
9:30 a.m. ET
Australia’s Northern Territory welcomes 2025.
10 a.m. ET
Japan, South Korea, North Korea, a portion of Russia, parts of Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Palau join in the New Year celebrations.
10:15 a.m. ET
Western Australia celebrates the New Year.
11 a.m. ET
China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei, most of Mongolia, parts of Indonesia, Russia’s Irkutsk region, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macao, and some regions of Antarctica welcome 2025.
Noon ET
Much of Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, parts of Russia and Mongolia, a small section of Antarctica, and Australia’s Christmas Island join the global New Year festivities.
12:30 p.m. ET
Myanmar and the Cocos Islands, an Australian territory, celebrate the New Year.
1 p.m. ET
Bangladesh, parts of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Russian city of Omsk, and a small section of Antarctica ring in 2025.
1:15 p.m. ET
Nepal joins the celebrations.
1:30 p.m. ET
India and Sri Lanka welcome the New Year.
2 p.m. ET
Pakistan, parts of Russia, much of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the Maldives, Tajikistan, the French Southern Territories, France’s Kerguelen Islands, and a small area of Antarctica celebrate the New Year.
2:30 p.m. ET
Afghanistan rings in 2025.
3 p.m. ET
Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Armenia, a small region of Russia, Oman, much of Georgia, France’s Réunion Island, Mauritius, and the Seychelles join in the festivities.
3:30 p.m. ET
Iran celebrates the New Year.
4 p.m. ET
Moscow, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and 17 other locations mark the arrival of 2025.
5 p.m. ET
Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Rwanda, Romania, and 26 other locations join the global celebration.
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Midnight ET
The East Coast of the USA (including New York City, Washington, D.C., and Detroit), parts of Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Cuba, Acre in Brazil, Panama, a small part of Mexico, Haiti, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Jamaica, a small region of Chile, and the Cayman Islands celebrate the New Year.
1 a.m. ET
Central USA (including Chicago), much of Mexico (including Mexico City), parts of Canada, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and a small part of Ecuador ring in 2025.
2 a.m. ET
The US Mountain Time Zone (including Denver and Phoenix), parts of Canada (including Edmonton and Calgary), and parts of Mexico join in the New Year.
4 a.m. ET
Alaska in the US and regions of French Polynesia celebrate the New Year.
4:30 a.m. ET
The Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia join in the festivities.
5 a.m. ET
Hawaii in the US, Tahiti in French Polynesia, and the Cook Islands mark the arrival of 2025.
6 a.m. ET
American Samoa, parts of the US Minor Outlying Islands (including the Midway Atoll), and Niue, an island nation in the South Pacific, celebrate the New Year.
7 a.m. ET
Much of the US Minor Outlying Islands, including Baker Island and Howland Island, ring in the New Year.