Oceania · Micronesia · Sovereign state
Current time in Marshall Islands
A single time zone at UTC+12:00.
Sunday, May 31, 2026
About Marshall Islands's time
A single time zone.
The Marshall Islands stretches across two time zones: most of the country runs on UTC+12:00 (Pacific/Majuro), but the Kwajalein Atoll uses its own clock set to UTC+12 as well, creating an interesting quirk where the atolls west of the International Date Line technically share the same offset but sit on different calendar days.
Major cities
Cities of Marshall Islands.
History
How Marshall Islands keeps time.
The Marshall Islands' current timekeeping arrangement is a legacy of its complex colonial and strategic history. During German and later Japanese administration in the early 20th century, the islands followed various local solar times. Under U.S. administration as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands after World War II, standardized time zones were adopted to align with American military and administrative needs.
The Kwajalein Atoll home to the U.S. Army's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site follows UTC+12:00 despite being geographically west of the 180° meridian. This creates a unique situation where Kwajalein shares the same clock time as Majuro but is on the same calendar day as Hawaii and the rest of the United States, facilitating coordination with U.S. military operations. The rest of the Republic follows Pacific/Majuro at UTC+12:00, aligned with neighboring Pacific nations like Kiribati and Nauru.
Did you know?
Things about Marshall Islands's time.
The Marshall Islands' most fascinating timezone feature is the Kwajalein anomaly: the atoll sits geographically in the western hemisphere west of the 180° meridian but clocks match the eastern hemisphere's UTC+12. This means that when it's Monday in Kwajalein, it's still Sunday in nearby atolls like Jaluit that are just two time zones away but on the 'wrong' side of the date line.
For travelers and remote workers, this creates confusion. You can fly 300 kilometers west from Majuro and arrive in Kwajalein on the same local time but a different day. The country has no daylight saving time, so clocks stay constant year-round, which simplifies scheduling across this scattered archipelago of 29 coral atolls and 5 isolated islands spanning over 1.9 million square kilometers of ocean.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Marshall Islands's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- What is the time zone of Majuro, Marshall Islands?
- Majuro follows Pacific/Majuro at UTC+12:00 and does not observe daylight saving time.
- Why does Kwajalein have the same time as Majuro despite being west of the Date Line?
- Kwajalein follows UTC+12 for military and operational alignment with the U.S. missile testing site, even though it lies in the western hemisphere.
- How many time zones does the Marshall Islands have?
- There are two zones, both at UTC+12:00: Pacific/Majuro for most of the country and Kwajalein for the atoll of the same name.
- Is there daylight saving time in the Marshall Islands?
- No, the entire country uses standard time year-round without any clock changes.
- Why am I on a different calendar day when I travel west within the Marshall Islands?
- Kwajalein sits west of the International Date Line but uses the same UTC+12 offset as Majuro, creating a one-day calendar difference with some nearby atolls despite similar local times.
- What time is it in the Marshall Islands when it's noon UTC?
- It is midnight (00:00) in the Marshall Islands when it is noon UTC.
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