Samoa moved west of the International Date Line in 2011, skipping December 30 during its New Year's transition.
At the end of December 29, 2011, Samoa advanced its clocks by 24 hours. The next calendar date was December 31, so December 30 did not occur in Samoa that year. The change moved the country from the eastern side of the International Date Line to the western side.
The government said the shift would better align Samoa's working week with major economic partners including Australia and New Zealand. Before the change, Samoa had been nearly a full day behind those countries despite being relatively close in the Pacific.
The move also reversed a decision made in 1892, when Samoa had changed to the opposite side of the date line to coordinate more easily with the United States. Samoa and American Samoa are now on different sides of the line and can observe different calendar dates at the same moment.