Americas · Central America · Sovereign state
Current time in Panama
A single time zone at UTC-05:00.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
About Panama's time
A single time zone.
Panama keeps things simple with a single timezone (UTC-5 / EST) and has never observed daylight saving time, so the clock stays consistent year-round.
Major cities
Cities of Panama.
History
How Panama keeps time.
Panama adopted the UTC-5 offset (Eastern Standard Time) as its standard time, aligning with its geographic position in Central America. Unlike many neighboring countries, Panama has never observed daylight saving time for energy savings or other reasons, maintaining EST (UTC-5) permanently throughout the year. This consistency has been a point of national policy, simplifying commerce and timezone coordination for Panama's international banking and logistics sectors.
The country's timezone matches the US East Coast in winter (and is one hour behind it from March to November), which is practical for business dealings with the United States. Panama's time also matches Colombia, sharing the same UTC-5 offset, which facilitates trade and communication between the two neighboring countries.
Did you know?
Things about Panama's time.
Panama uses UTC-5 year-round, permanently on what Americans would call Eastern Standard Time — but without the "standard" vs "daylight" distinction. This makes it straightforward to calculate time differences with the US East Coast (zero offset from November to March) and other UTC-5 regions.
Notably, although Panama uses UTC-5, its geographic position (roughly 79°W longitude) places it closer to UTC-5's solar time than many countries on the same offset. Solar noon in Panama City falls around 12:20 on average, keeping clock time well-aligned with natural daylight patterns.
Panama's timezone also matches Colombia, Peru and mainland Ecuador, which simplifies coordination with its South American neighbors.
Convert
Panama to the world's clocks.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Panama's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- What timezone is Panama in?
- Panama is in UTC-5 (Eastern Standard Time / EST) year-round.
- Does Panama observe daylight saving time?
- No, Panama has never observed daylight saving time and stays on EST (UTC-5) permanently.
- What time is it in Panama when it is noon in New York (during EDT)?
- When New York is on EDT (UTC-4), Panama is 1 hour behind. Noon EDT = 11:00 AM in Panama.
- What time is it in Panama when it is noon in New York (during EST)?
- Both are UTC-5 during EST (winter time), so noon EST = noon in Panama. No time difference for roughly four months per year (November to March).
- Is Panama's timezone the same as Colombia?
- Yes, both Panama and Colombia use UTC-5 year-round with no daylight saving time.
- How many time zones does Panama have?
- Panama has a single timezone: Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5), all year.
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.
Also in the API: time zones by coordinates, conversions that flag daylight saving gaps, and abbreviations decoded.
Moving off WorldTimeAPI? Our drop-in replacement needs no key.