IANA tz database · zone identifier

Africa/Harare

The IANA tz database identifier for Central Africa Time in Zimbabwe. Store this string — not the abbreviation, not the offset — and your timestamps stay correct forever.

UTC+02:00Abbreviation CATNo DST — never observed
Time in Africa/Harare☾ Night
01:00:33
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Offset
UTC+02:00
Abbreviation
CAT
DST
No DST

Current offset

UTC+02:00

same year-round

Abbreviation

CAT

used year-round

DST behaviour

Never

has never observed daylight saving

Country

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

ISO 3166: ZW · view country page →

Using this identifier

The string to put in your code.

Africa/Harare is the identifier to use in code and config for this region. Every modern language, database, and OS resolves it through the same tz database, so the examples here behave identically everywhere.

Avoid storing CAT or +02:00 — abbreviations are ambiguous and fixed offsets can't follow rule changes.

// format a date in this zone
new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', {
timeZone: 'Africa/Harare',
dateStyle: 'full', timeStyle: 'long'
}).format(new Date());

Offset & DST behaviour

One offset,
123 years.

Africa/Harare has kept UTC+02:00 year-round since 1 March 1903 — no daylight saving and no offset changes on record since. It is among the most stable identifiers in the database.

Every offset this zone has kept

+02:04:12UTC+02:00 · UNCHANGED 1 March 1903 NOW

Keeping this offset since

1 March 1903

Next transition

None scheduled

no DST rules exist for this zone

Safe to assume

Local = UTC + 2h, always

…but store the identifier anyway

Technical record

The database entry, in full.

source: IANA tz database

IdentifierAfrica/Harare
ISO country codeZW🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
Reference coordinates17.83°S, 31.05°Etz database reference point
Standard offsetUTC+02:00abbreviation CAT
Daylight offset—daylight saving has never been observed

Where it applies

All of Zimbabwe, one clock.

Looking for travel-friendly info? See Harare or Central Africa Time.

🇿🇼
Zimbabwe

15M people, one time zone. The whole country resolves to Africa/Harare.

Country page →
🇿🇼 Harare
01:00
01:00:33 · CAT
pop. 2.2MCAT
🇿🇼 Bulawayo
01:00
01:00:33 · CAT
pop. 666KCAT

Related identifiers

Nearby in the database.

Same zone group · Central Africa Time

other identifiers keeping CAT

Same offset · UTC+02:00

other zones keeping this offset right now

Frequently asked questions

Answers specific to this identifier — generated from the database record. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].

What UTC offset is Africa/Harare?
Africa/Harare is UTC+02:00, year-round. The offset never changes because the zone does not observe daylight saving time.
Does Africa/Harare observe daylight saving time?
No. Africa/Harare has never observed DST — it has kept UTC+02:00 continuously since 1 March 1903.
Which country uses Africa/Harare?
Zimbabwe. The identifier covers the whole country.
Is Africa/Harare the same as CAT?
Africa/Harare is one of the IANA zones that keeps Central Africa Time (CAT). Use Africa/Harare in software — CAT is a human-friendly label, not a valid identifier.

Free · Developer API

This zone, as JSON.

Everything on this page — offset, abbreviation, DST rules, coordinates — from one endpoint, always current with the latest tzdb release.

GET /v1/timezones Live

countries, cities, convert, DST transitions coming next.

Get your free API key →
// this identifier, resolved live
GET /v1/timezones?iana=Africa/Harare
{
"iana": "Africa/Harare",
"utc_offset": "+02:00",
"abbreviation": "CAT",
"observes_dst": false,
"country": "ZW"
}