Saudi Arabia time now, live flip clock
The clock above shows Saudi time live, with seconds. Saudi Arabia keeps one time for the whole kingdom, UTC+3, and its clocks do not change.
Time zone in Saudi Arabia
One clock covers the kingdom, from Riyadh and Dammam to Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah.
- UTC+3
- Not observed
- Jeddah, Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah
How many hours ahead or behind Saudi Arabia
On 7 October 2026, Kolkata is 2 hours 30 minutes ahead of Saudi Arabia.
| City | Difference from Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|
| Kolkata | 2 hours 30 minutes ahead |
| Dhaka | 3 hours ahead |
| Karachi | 2 hours ahead |
| Cairo | Same time |
| Manila | 5 hours ahead |
| Jakarta | 4 hours ahead |
| Dubai | 1 hour ahead |
| London | 2 hours behind |
| New York | 7 hours behind |
| Your time zone | Detected after this page loads |
Convert a time between any two placesDaylight saving dates around the world
How the kingdom keeps its time
- The national reference time
- SASO
- The Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization, SASO, keeps and shares the national reference time. A report from its time laboratory says that time is built from caesium atomic clocks. SASO sends the time out over the internet. The stock market's trading system is set to the time SASO approves.
- No letter code
- UTC+3
- SASO's news on the stock market's clock speaks of Saudi time, with no letter code. Some time zone websites write AST for Arabia Standard Time. Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic use the same letters for Atlantic Standard Time. Their clocks are 7 hours behind Riyadh. So this site shows the offset alone.
- Watches once set at sunset
- 12
- More than fifty years ago, the oil company Aramco's magazine described the traditional way of keeping time. At each sunset, people set their watches to twelve o'clock. The national airline used one fixed time everywhere except Dhahran. The article said the kingdom had recently decided to settle on a single system.
- Neighbours on the same clock
- 6
- Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen all keep the same clock time as Saudi Arabia. The UAE and Oman are 1 hour ahead of the kingdom. So a trip into either of those two means moving a watch forward.
Questions about time in Saudi Arabia
What time zone is Saudi Arabia in?
Saudi Arabia keeps a single time zone, UTC+3, across the whole kingdom. Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Makkah and Madinah all show the same time. The Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization keeps the national reference time. Its news on the stock market's clock calls it Saudi time, with no letter code.
Does Saudi Arabia have daylight saving time?
No. Saudi clocks show UTC+3 in summer and winter alike. That keeps the gap with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh fixed. Britain and most of the United States change their clocks, so their gap with Riyadh moves. London is 3 hours behind Riyadh in winter. During British summer time the gap is one hour smaller.
Is Makkah on the same time as Riyadh?
Yes. Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and Riyadh all keep UTC+3, because Saudi Arabia has one time zone. A watch set on landing in Jeddah stays right in Makkah and Madinah. Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain keep the same time too. The UAE and Oman are 1 hour ahead of Saudi Arabia, so pilgrims from there set their watches back.
What is the time difference between Saudi Arabia and India?
India is 2 hours 30 minutes ahead of Saudi Arabia. Pakistan is 2 hours ahead of Riyadh, and Bangladesh is 3 hours ahead of it. None of the four moves its clocks, so these gaps hold in every month. Manila, also on fixed time, is 5 hours ahead of Riyadh.
Does Saudi time have an abbreviation?
Not in SASO's own news, which writes of Saudi time without a code. SASO is the national timekeeper. Some time zone websites use AST, short for Arabia Standard Time. Puerto Rico uses the same letters for Atlantic Standard Time, 7 hours behind Riyadh. To avoid that mix-up, this site shows UTC+3 instead.
Time zone names for developers
| IANA zone | Standard time | Daylight saving time |
|---|---|---|
| Asia/Riyadh | UTC+3 | No |
Sources
We checked each fact on this page against these sources on 1 October 2026. Times, offsets and clock changes come from the time zone database.