Time zone · Africa
WAT
West Africa Standard Time
West Africa Standard Time (WAT) keeps things straightforward across 11 African nations — no daylight saving, no clock shifts, just a steady +1 offset all year. From Bangui to Lagos, it's one single, reliable hour ahead of UTC, which makes regional coordination refreshingly simple.
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Current offset
UTC+01:00
Standard · WAT
Daylight saving
Not observed
Year-round standard time
IANA zones
11
None observe daylight saving
DST offset
—
No summer variant
About WAT
A fixed, year-round offset.
West Africa Standard Time (WAT) keeps things straightforward across 11 African nations — no daylight saving, no clock shifts, just a steady +1 offset all year. From Bangui to Lagos, it's one single, reliable hour ahead of UTC, which makes regional coordination refreshingly simple.
IANA zones · the technical identifiers
The 11 zones that resolve to WAT.
For software, always store the IANA identifier — never the abbreviation alone. The database keeps these zones distinct because their rules can, and historically did, diverge.
Cities currently on WAT
The same hour, city by city.
12 cities · all UTC+01:00
Where WAT is used
11 countries.
Same offset · UTC+01:00
Other zones at UTC+01:00 right now.
These named zones share WAT's offset today. When daylight saving rules differ, they drift apart for part of the year.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about WAT, daylight saving, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- Does West Africa Standard Time observe daylight saving?
- No. Every zone in the WAT region stays on UTC+01:00 all year round — there’s no spring forward or fall back anywhere in the region.
- How many countries share West Africa Standard Time?
- At least 11 major zones use WAT, including Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo, and Angola.
- Is West Africa Standard Time always UTC+01:00?
- Yes, permanently. The West Africa Standard Time region does not have daylight saving transitions.
- Which city represents West Africa Standard Time on the timezone.io page?
- Bangui, in the Central African Republic, is the reference city shown for WAT on timezone.io.
- What was the last known change to West Africa Standard Time?
- The current offset has been in effect since at least May 2021, and no recent changes have been recorded.
- Are there multiple time zones in West Africa?
- Yes — only this region uses WAT. Other parts of Africa follow different offsets and rules, but within WAT, there’s just one consistent standard.
- What’s unique about West Africa Standard Time?
- Its consistency — no daylight saving changes and a single offset make cross-border collaboration easy across nearly a dozen countries.
- Do any WAT countries use daylight saving?
- Not right now, and there are no known plans for future adoption in this region.
Free · Developer API
Time, as JSON.
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countries, cities, convert, DST transitions coming next.
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