IANA tz database · zone identifier

Asia/Riyadh

The IANA tz database identifier for Arabian Standard Time in Saudi Arabia. Store this string — not the abbreviation, not the offset — and your timestamps stay correct forever.

UTC+03:00Abbreviation +03No DST — never observed
Time in Asia/Riyadh☾ Night
01:58:03
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Offset
UTC+03:00
Abbreviation
+03
DST
No DST

Current offset

UTC+03:00

same year-round

Abbreviation

+03

tzdb uses numeric abbreviations here

DST behaviour

Never

has never observed daylight saving

Country

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

ISO 3166: SA · view country page →

Using this identifier

The string to put in your code.

Asia/Riyadh 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 +03 or +03:00 — abbreviations are ambiguous and fixed offsets can't follow rule changes.

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

Offset & DST behaviour

One offset,
79 years.

Asia/Riyadh has kept UTC+03:00 year-round since 13 March 1947 — 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

+03:06:52UTC+03:00 · UNCHANGED 13 March 1947 NOW

Keeping this offset since

13 March 1947

Next transition

None scheduled

no DST rules exist for this zone

Safe to assume

Local = UTC + 3h, always

…but store the identifier anyway

Technical record

The database entry, in full.

source: IANA tz database

IdentifierAsia/Riyadh
ISO country codeSA🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
Reference coordinates24.63°N, 46.72°Etz database reference point
Standard offsetUTC+03:00abbreviation +03
Daylight offset—daylight saving has never been observed

Where it applies

All of Saudi Arabia, one clock.

Looking for travel-friendly info? See Riyadh or Arabian Standard Time.

🇸🇦
Saudi Arabia

33M people, one time zone. The whole country resolves to Asia/Riyadh.

Country page →
🇸🇦 Riyadh
01:58
01:58:03 · +03
pop. 7MAST
🇸🇦 Jeddah
01:58
01:58:03 · +03
pop. 4.7MAST
🇸🇦 Makkah
01:58
01:58:03 · +03
pop. 1.6MAST

Related identifiers

Nearby in the database.

Same zone group · Arabian Standard Time

other identifiers keeping AST

Same offset · UTC+03:00

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 Asia/Riyadh?
Asia/Riyadh is UTC+03:00, year-round. The offset never changes because the zone does not observe daylight saving time.
Does Asia/Riyadh observe daylight saving time?
No. Asia/Riyadh has never observed DST — it has kept UTC+03:00 continuously since 13 March 1947.
Which country uses Asia/Riyadh?
Saudi Arabia. The identifier covers the whole country.
Is Asia/Riyadh the same as AST?
Asia/Riyadh is one of the IANA zones that keeps Arabian Standard Time (AST). Use Asia/Riyadh in software — AST 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=Asia/Riyadh
{
"iana": "Asia/Riyadh",
"utc_offset": "+03:00",
"abbreviation": "+03",
"observes_dst": false,
"country": "SA"
}