Kiribati includes Kiritimati, one of the first inhabited places to enter each New Year.
Kiritimati, also known as Christmas Island, lies in Kiribati's Line Islands and observes UTC+14, the world's most advanced civil time zone. As a result, midnight arrives there before it reaches most other populated locations. The island is east of the 180th meridian but is on the western side of the International Date Line because the line was adjusted around Kiribati's island groups.
Kiribati moved the date line for its eastern islands in 1994, removing a situation in which different parts of the country were on different calendar dates. The change helped give the nation a continuous date across its territory.
Kiribati is often described in travel coverage as the first country to welcome the New Year, although “first” depends on whether one means a country, an inhabited settlement or a particular territory. Kiritimati is the specific island behind the claim.