International time changeover - Which countries observe the time changeover?

General information

The time changeover is by no means internationally uniformly regulated. It is currently observed by less than 40% of all countries worldwide. Countries near the equator, in particular, generally do not use it, since the duration of sunlight here is subject to much less fluctuation in the course of the year than in the direction of the poles.

In addition, the time change is always the subject of discussion and has been introduced at least once by the majority of countries in the world - but also abolished by many. In Germany - the first country in the world to introduce summer time - it has also been introduced and abolished several times.

In Muslim countries, on the other hand, it is often customary to suspend summer time during Ramadan and then continue it.

In addition, summer time and time zones have repeatedly been used by governments to demonstrate sovereignty and the ability to act with relatively simple means - as recently demonstrated by Kim Jong Un, who postponed North Korea's time zone by half an hour, thus replacing North Korea by the 'Pyongyang time' imposed by the 'vicious Japanese imperialists'.

To this day there have been countless petitions, referendums and bills on the subject. Here are just a few examples:

• At the end of March 2019, the EU Parliament voted by a large majority in favour of abolishing the time changeover from 2021.
  The last time changeover is to take place in spring 2021. EU countries that want to keep the standard time permanently will change their watches for the last time in autumn 2021.
  
  
• In Western Australia there was a referendum in 2009 to continue summer time after a three-year test period. In 2008, a special party was founded in Queensland, the DS4SEQ (Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Party), whose only topic was the introduction of summer time in Qeensland.
  
  
•  In 2008, 72% of Jersey's citizens opposed the introduction of CET. On the island, which is owned by the British Crown but not part of the United Kingdom, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is observed in accordance with England, although the island is only 22 kilometres off the French coast. Advocates of the move to GMT argued with environmental and tourism benefits, while opponents fear economic disadvantages as Jersey is heavily dependent on its financial sector and works closely with England here - switching to GMT would mean shifting working hours against each other. Another aspect of the discussion is cultural. Many Jersey residents see their lifestyle closer to France and the continent, others have expressed their loyalty to the UK by saying 'no' to the referendum.
  
  
• Usually the clocks in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank are changed at the same time,
      However, 2008, 2009 and 2010 were set different dates, which led to chaos especially in Jerusalem, Gaza City and Ramallah in relation to Ramadan.
  
  
• In the British Parliament, double summer time - i.e. the change of clocks by one hour and thus the alignment with Central European Time - has already been discussed several times, but has so far always been rejected after often heated debate. The Scots, in particular, have always rejected this, as it would mean that in some regions of Scotland the sun would not rise until 10 a.m.

The following is an overview of all countries and regions with a daylight saving time regulation: