Kiribati moved the International Date Line in 1994 so its inhabited islands would share the same calendar day.
Kiribati is spread across a vast area of the central Pacific Ocean. Before the change, the country's island groups lay on different sides of the date line, creating a practical problem for administration, commerce, and communication. The government shifted the date-line arrangement east of the country, causing the Line Islands to advance by one calendar day relative to their former position.
The change did not move a physical line marked across the ocean; the International Date Line is an agreed convention that bends around countries and territories. Kiribati's adjustment made its island groups use the same date, although they still span multiple time zones.
Because of its position near the date line, Kiribati is often described as among the first inhabited places to enter a new year. That claim depends on which island and time-zone convention is being discussed, so “first” should not be treated as a single timeless geographic title.