Kiribati, whose Line Islands use UTC+14, is among the first countries on Earth to enter a new calendar year.
Kiribati is an island country in the central Pacific Ocean. Its territory spans a wide area, so its islands do not all share the same local time. The Line Islands, including Kiritimati, use UTC+14, the most advanced civil time zone commonly observed. As a result, midnight arrives there before it does in most other inhabited places.
Kiribati moved the International Date Line eastward around its islands in 1994, aligning its scattered territory on the same calendar date. The change made the country better able to conduct business across its own islands, although it also created a striking time-zone distinction.
Being among the first to celebrate does not mean every part of Kiribati reaches January 1 simultaneously. The country's three island groups use different time offsets. Samoa and Tonga are also early celebrants, but the UTC+14 clue specifically points to Kiribati's Line Islands.