Americas · Caribbean · Sovereign state
Current time in Jamaica
A single time zone at UTC-05:00.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
About Jamaica's time
A single time zone.
Jamaica uses a single timezone—Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5)—year-round, having permanently left daylight saving time behind in 1983, so its clock never changes.
Major cities
Cities of Jamaica.
History
How Jamaica keeps time.
Jamaica switched from Kingston Mean Time (about 5 hours 7 minutes behind GMT) to Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00) in 1912, and that has been its standard time ever since.
In 1974, amid the global energy crisis, Jamaica introduced daylight saving time, following the US schedule, and observed it every year until 1983, when the practice was discontinued. Since then, Jamaica has remained on Eastern Standard Time year-round, simplifying scheduling and avoiding the biannual clock shifts that once caused logistical hiccups in transportation and commerce.
Did you know?
Things about Jamaica's time.
Kingston lies at about 76.8°W, just west of the 75°W meridian that Eastern Standard Time is based on, so on average the sun is highest around 12:07 PM and clock time tracks the sun closely all year.
Jamaica’s year-round EST simplifies business and travel with the U.S. East Coast and parts of Latin America. Because Jamaica does not change its clocks, it matches New York and Miami in winter but is one hour behind them from March to November. Its single zone avoids internal confusion and aligns well with tourism schedules from North America.
Convert
Jamaica to the world's clocks.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Jamaica's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- Does Jamaica observe daylight saving time?
- No, Jamaica does not observe daylight saving time. It has used Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5) year-round since 1983.
- What is the time difference between Jamaica and New York?
- Jamaica has the same time as New York while New York is on standard time (EST, early November to mid-March), and is one hour behind while New York is on daylight saving time (EDT, mid-March to early November).
- Why doesn’t Jamaica change its clocks?
- Jamaica stopped daylight saving in 1983 due to public inconvenience and lack of significant energy savings.
- Does Jamaica have more than one time zone?
- No, the whole country uses one time zone: Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5), all year round.
- Is Jamaica on the same time as Miami?
- Only in winter. Jamaica and Miami share Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5) from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March. While Miami is on daylight saving time (EDT, UTC−4) for the rest of the year, Jamaica is one hour behind.
- What is the time zone abbreviation for Jamaica?
- The time zone abbreviation for Jamaica is EST (Eastern Standard Time).
Source: IANA tzdb2026d · Reviewed
Free · Developer API
This country, as JSON.
Its default time zone, zone and city counts and DST summary, from one endpoint.
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