
The timezone WST in Samoa
Timezones are always computed by their difference to UTC, the "Universal Time Coordinated". In Samoa there is only a single tonezone at UTC+. For example, New York is currently at UTC-4 in Eastern Time, so the time difference between New York and Samoa is 4 hours.Samoa has no time difference between summer and winter. A daylight saving time doesn't exist.
Back to overview: Samoa
Current time in all regions of Samoa:
00:00
June 2023
Only 1 nationwide time zone
Standard time: | UTC +13 | West Samoa Time (WST) |
Daylight saving time: | UTC +14 | discontinued 2021 |
Samoa has an east-west extension of 1.1 degrees of longitude. Given the country's location in Polynesia, this corresponds to about 120 kilometers. With such a small extent the course of the sun at different positions in the country hardly matters. The position of the sun in the west of the country deviates from that in the east only about 4 minutes. This means the sun rises and sets 4 minutes later in the west than in the east.

No more daylight saving time in Samoa
Due to the sun's orbit around the equator, the days are longer in summer (November to February in the southern 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 Samoa would not be particularly large. Apia is located just 1,550 km from the equator. A day in midsummer would then not last from 05:56 to 18:55, but from 06:56 to 19:55. 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 2021, the decision was made to finally abandon daylight saving time in Samoa.