Africa · Eastern Africa · Dependency
Current time in British Indian Ocean Territory
A single time zone at UTC+06:00.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
About British Indian Ocean Territory's time
A single time zone.
The British Indian Ocean Territory spans just one timezone at UTC+06:00, known as Indian Ocean Time, with no daylight saving time observed throughout the year.
Major cities
Cities of British Indian Ocean Territory.
History
How British Indian Ocean Territory keeps time.
When the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) was established in 1965, it was carved out of the Chagos Archipelago for strategic military purposes. The Chagos Archipelago used UTC+05:00 from 1907 and only moved to UTC+06:00 at the start of 1996. There have been no other changes to the territory's time zone, as the population has consisted almost entirely of military personnel, with no permanent civilian population following the displacement of the Chagossian people between 1968 and 1973.
Convert
British Indian Ocean Territory to the world's clocks.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about British Indian Ocean Territory's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- What time zone is the British Indian Ocean Territory in?
- The British Indian Ocean Territory follows UTC+06:00 year-round, known as Indian Ocean Time.
- Does the British Indian Ocean Territory observe daylight saving time?
- No, the territory does not observe daylight saving time.
- How many time zones does the British Indian Ocean Territory have?
- The territory spans only one time zone: UTC+06:00.
- Is the Chagos time zone used anywhere else?
- The Chagos zone covers only the British Indian Ocean Territory, but the same UTC+06:00 offset is also used by Bangladesh, Bhutan and Kyrgyzstan.
- What is the time difference between the British Indian Ocean Territory and London?
- The territory is 6 hours ahead of London in winter (GMT) and 5 hours ahead while the UK is on British Summer Time.
- When was the British Indian Ocean Territory established?
- The British Indian Ocean Territory was created in 1965. It moved to its current UTC+06:00 offset in 1996.
Source: IANA tzdb2026d · Reviewed
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