The timezone CAT in South Sudan

Only 1 nationwide time zone

UTC	+2
Standard time:	Central Africa Time (CAT)
Daylight saving time:	discontinued 1985

South Sudan has an east-west extension of 7.9 degrees of longitude. Given the country's location in Northern Africa, this corresponds to about 880 kilometers. With this still relatively small extension, the course of the sun is only slightly different at different positions in the country. The position of the sun in the west of the country differs from that in the east by only about 32 minutes. This means the sun rises and sets 32 minutes later in the west than in the east.


The Central Africa Time also applies in Malawi, Burundi, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Rwanda, in parts of the Congo (Dem. Republic), in Zambia, Mozambique and in Namibia.

No more daylight saving time in South Sudan

Due to the sun's orbit around the equator, the days are longer in summer (June to September in the northern hemisphere). Countries that switch to daylight saving time in the summer months align the daylight phase with the human rhythm. Unused bright morning hours are thus shifted into the evening (more information on daylight saving time here).

Due to its proximity to the equator, the impact in South Sudan would not be particularly large. Juba is located just 540 km from the equator. A day in midsummer would then not last from 05:42 to 18:08, but from 06:42 to 19:08. The effect would be quite noticeable in the evening, but the sun rising later in the morning falls at a time when many people are already awake. Thus, in 1985, the decision was made to finally abandon daylight saving time in South Sudan.

Changes in Daylight Saving Times

In South Sudan Daylight Saving Time has been observed since 1970 until 10/14/1985.