Kiribati uses UTC+14 on its Line Islands and is among the first places to celebrate New Year's Day.
Kiribati is an island country spread across a large area of the central Pacific Ocean. In 1995, it moved the International Date Line around its eastern islands so that the country would share the same calendar date. The change placed the Line Islands, including Kiritimati, on the UTC+14 time zone.
Because time zones determine when midnight occurs, Kiritimati reaches January 1 before most inhabited places. This has made it a frequent subject of “first to celebrate” reports and a popular destination for travelers interested in New Year celebrations.
The phrase “first country” can be misleading because the date line passes through the Pacific and several places are close together in time. Kiribati's Line Islands are among the earliest inhabited locations to enter the new year, but the exact wording depends on whether one means a country, island, territory, or settlement.