The timezone AST in Caribbean Netherlands

Only 1 nationwide time zone

UTC	-4
Standard time:	Atlantic Standard Time (AST)
Daylight saving time:	none

The Caribbean Netherlands have an east-west extent of 5.4 degrees longitude. Given the country's location in Caribbean, this corresponds to about 580 kilometers. With this still relatively small extension, the course of the sun is only slightly different at various positions in the country. The position of the sun in the west of the country differs from that in the east by only about 21 minutes. This means the sun rises and sets 21 minutes later in the west than in the east.


The Atlantic Standard Time also applies in Anguilla, , Aruba, Barbados, in parts of Canada, in Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Martin, St. Martin, Martinique, Montserrat, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Virgin Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in parts of Greenland, on the British Virgin Islands and in the Bermudas.

No daylight saving time in Caribbean Netherlands

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 Caribbean Netherlands would not be particularly large. Oranjestad is located just 1,950 km from the equator. A day in midsummer would then not last from 05:37 to 18:50, but from 06:37 to 19:50. 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, daylight saving time was never introduced in Caribbean Netherlands.