Kiribati uses UTC+14 in its Line Islands, making those islands among the first inhabited places to enter a new year.
The country spans a wide area of the central Pacific and includes the Line Islands, Phoenix Islands, and Gilbert Islands. In 1995, Kiribati moved the International Date Line around its eastern island groups so the country could share the same calendar date.
Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is the best-known Kiribati location associated with early New Year celebrations. Its time zone is Line Islands Time, or UTC+14, the world's furthest-ahead standard time zone.
The phrase “first in the world” is often simplified in news coverage. The exact claim depends on whether one means the first territory, first inhabited location, or first major city, but Kiribati's Line Islands are consistently among the earliest inhabited places.