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Time in Egypt facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Egypt uses a time zone called Eastern European Time (EET). This means it is two hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+2). This is the same time zone as its neighbor, Libya. In 2016, Egypt planned to bring back daylight saving time (DST), but then decided not to use it that year.

What is Daylight Saving Time?

Daylight saving time (DST) is when clocks are moved forward by one hour during warmer months. This makes evenings have more daylight. Then, clocks are moved back when cooler weather arrives. The idea is to save energy by using less artificial light in the evenings.

Egypt's History with DST

Egypt has changed its mind about using daylight saving time many times over the years.

Early Years of DST

Egypt first used DST in 1940. This practice continued for five years, ending in 1945. DST was brought back in 1957. The country then kept using it for many years, until 2010.

Changes Due to Ramadan

Normally, DST in Egypt would start in late April and end in early October. However, the dates sometimes changed because of Ramadan. Ramadan is a special month in the Islamic calendar. During Ramadan, many people fast from sunrise to sunset. To make things easier, the DST end dates were sometimes moved. For example, in 2006, DST ended on September 22. In 2007, it ended on September 7. In 2008, it ended on August 29. By 2010, Ramadan was happening entirely during the summer months.

Stopping and Restarting DST

On April 20, 2011, Egypt decided to stop using summer time completely. From then on, Eastern European Time (EET) was used all year, with no changes.

However, in May 2014, daylight saving time was brought back again. DST started on Friday, May 16. It was paused during the month of Ramadan. After Ramadan, it started again and then ended on Friday, September 26. But then, in 2015, DST was stopped once more.

In April 2016, there was another announcement. DST was planned to start on Friday, July 8, and end on Friday, October 28. But just a few days before it was supposed to begin, on July 4, 2016, the Egyptian government cancelled it again.

Images for kids

  • Arabic clock in the metro of Cairo

    Clock in Cairo Metro, showing Eastern Arabic numerals.

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