Current Times In Kiribati...

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Capital City	State / Province	Time
Bairiki, Tarawa Atoll	Gilbert Islands	8:48 AM — Sun
London, Kiritimati Island (Christmas Island)	Line Islands	10:48 AM — Sun
Kanton Island (Abariringa Island)	Phoenix Islands	9:48 AM — Sun

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Comments About... Kiribati

The Gilbert Islands were granted self–rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. Additionally, the US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati.

Kiribati is a group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator. Kiribati is comprised of 3 main island groups which are the Gilbert Islands, Phoenix Islands and Line Islands. The capital, Tarawa located in the Gilbert Islands, is about ½ of the way from Hawaii to Australia.

In addition to straddling the equator, Kiribati also technically straddles the International date line. This created problems because one part of the country would be one day behind the rest of the country. Therefore, on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory would be on the same day. Kiribati was able to do this because each country is allowed to set its own time zone.

Due to this proclamation, the International date line does a sort of zigzag around the Line Islands, the most eastern part of Kiribati.

When looking at a map, the Line Islands are essentially directly under Hawaii. As a result, one would think that the Line Islands are in the same time zone as Hawaii. Technically, this is true because when it is 3 PM in Hawaii, it is also 3 PM in the Line Islands.

The significant difference, as a result of Kiribati’s proclamation, is that when it is 3 PM on Thursday in the Line Islands, it is 3 PM on Wednesday in Hawaii.

Understanding the time for Kiribati can be confusing at times. One area of confusion can often occur as a result of looking at Kiribati’s GMT offset. For those that don’t understand, the GMT offset can also be explained as the time difference between Kiribati and Greenwich Meantime (GMT). Greenwich Meantime is 0º longitude. It is from 0º longitude that all times around the world are compared to.

The GMT offset for Kiribati is as follows:

The Gilbert Islands are GMT +12 hours
The Phoenix Islands are GMT +13 hours
The Line Islands Group is GMT +14 hours

Many will ask, "if Hawaii is -10 hours, then why not make the Line Islands Group also -10 hours since when it is 3 PM in Hawaii it is also 3 PM in the Line Islands".

At first glance this may make sense, but as also stated when it is 3 PM on Thursday in the Line Islands, it is 3 PM on Wednesday in Hawaii. If the Line Islands were to be -10 hours, then they would be 1 day behind the rest of Kiribati. To ensure the Line Islands and the Phoenix Islands are on the same day as the rest of Kiribati, their GMT offset must be added rather than subtracted.

For individuals wishing to see exactly how the International date line zigzags around the country of Kiribati, it is suggested that one visits www.mappoint.com and does a search for Kiribati. One will then see the International date line on the map and how it does not follow a straight line. Additionally, do a search for Line Islands to see more clearly how the International date line zigzags around the island group.

Time Genie's Newsroom — Kiribati...

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Current World Time...

You can change these times by setting your preferences. Additionally, Your Clock allows you to compare the time for up to 14 different cities around the world.

City	Time	GMT±
Vancouver	12:48 PM — Sat, Nov 21	-8:00
Perth	4:48 AM — Sun, Nov 22	+8:00
Nairobi	11:48 PM — Sat, Nov 21	+3:00
Vladivostok	6:48 AM — Sun, Nov 22	+10:00
Reykjavík	8:48 PM — Sat, Nov 21	+0:00

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Current GMT Time

Sat, Nov 21, 2009

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