Current Time in Johannesburg, South Africa
The time in Johannesburg right now, with its time zone, daylight saving dates and the difference from where you are.
Johannesburg keeps South African Standard Time: SAST, UTC+2, all year.
Convert a time in Johannesburg →Time in Johannesburg
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South African Standard Time · SAST, UTC+2, all year
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Johannesburg’s time zone
Johannesburg keeps South African Standard Time (SAST), UTC+2, all year round: its clocks do not change for summer. Phones and computers set Johannesburg’s clocks from the Africa/Johannesburg zone of the IANA tz database, and so does this page.
South Africa has kept South African Standard Time, UTC+2, since March 1903; before that it used UTC+1:30. The only summer time in the tz database is wartime: clocks went an hour forward in the summers of 1942–1943 and 1943–1944. Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban have shared one clock ever since, though Cape Town lies about 10 degrees further west.
SAST is shared with Lesotho and Eswatini, and the same UTC+2 offset is used by Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana under the name Central Africa Time. Because Johannesburg never changes its clocks, its gap to Europe moves: it is one hour ahead of Berlin and two hours ahead of London in the northern winter, and level with Berlin and one hour ahead of London in the northern summer.
SAST = UTC +2
- South Africa moved from UTC+1:30 to UTC+2 in March 1903 and observed summer time only in 1942–1944. Source: IANA tz database, file “africa”.
Johannesburg time compared with other cities
How far ahead or behind each place is, on Wednesday 13 January 2027 and Wednesday 14 July 2027, and the time there when it is 9:00 am in Johannesburg in January.
| Place | In January | In July | At 9:00 am in Johannesburg |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 2 h behind | 1 h behind | 7:00 am |
| Lagos | 1 h behind | 1 h behind | 8:00 am |
| Cairo | same time | 1 h ahead | 9:00 am |
| Berlin | 1 h behind | same time | 8:00 am |
| Dubai | 2 h ahead | 2 h ahead | 11:00 am |
| India | 3 h 30 min ahead | 3 h 30 min ahead | 12:30 pm |
| New York | 7 h behind | 6 h behind | 2:00 am |
| Sydney | 9 h ahead | 8 h ahead | 6:00 pm |
| UTC | 2 h behind | 2 h behind | 7:00 am |
Frequently Asked Questions
What time zone is Johannesburg in?
Johannesburg is on South African Standard Time (SAST), UTC+2, all year. Its tz database zone is Africa/Johannesburg.
Does South Africa change its clocks?
No. South Africa stays on SAST (UTC+2) all year. Its last summer time was during the Second World War.
Is Cape Town on the same time as Johannesburg?
Yes. The whole country keeps one time zone, so Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban always show the same clock.
How far ahead of the UK is South Africa?
Two hours while the UK is on GMT in winter, and one hour from late March to late October, when the UK moves to BST. South Africa’s own clock never changes.