The Line Islands use UTC+14 and are among the first inhabited places to enter a new year.
The Line Islands are part of Kiribati, an island country in the central Pacific. Their official time zone, Line Islands Time, is UTC+14, the most advanced standard civil time zone in common use. Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is the best-known inhabited island in this group.
Kiribati moved the International Date Line eastward around its territory in 1995. Before that change, the country was divided across different calendar dates, making government and communication difficult. The adjustment placed the Gilbert, Phoenix, and Line island groups on more convenient sides of the date boundary.
Being first by the clock does not mean every location on the island celebrates at exactly the same instant worldwide; celebrations follow local civil time. The Line Islands’ position makes them a frequent focus of New Year’s Eve time-zone reports.