Which inhabited island group is among the first places to celebrate New Year's Day each year?

Kiribati's Line Islands are among the first inhabited places to celebrate New Year's Day each year.

The islands use UTC+14, the world's most advanced standard time zone. As a result, midnight arrives there earlier by the civil clock than in almost every other inhabited region. Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is the best-known island in the group and frequently appears in reports about the first New Year celebrations.

This position is partly the result of Kiribati's 1994 decision to realign its eastern islands with the rest of the country. Before the change, the International Date Line separated parts of Kiribati, making the nation experience different calendar dates at the same time. Moving the date line around the islands created a unified national calendar.

The claim that Kiritimati is simply “the first place on Earth” needs care: the answer depends on whether one means inhabited land, a country's territory, or a specific settlement. The Line Islands are among the earliest inhabited locations, while uninhabited or differently defined locations can complicate superlative claims.