South Africa time now, live flip clock
South Africa keeps one time zone for the whole country, South African Standard Time, SAST, UTC+2. Its clocks do not change. The clock above shows South African time live, with seconds.
Time zone in South Africa
Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria all keep the same zone, and so do Lesotho and Eswatini.
- SAST, UTC+2
- Not observed
- Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria
How many hours ahead or behind South Africa
On 7 October 2026, New York is 6 hours behind South Africa.
| City | Difference from South Africa |
|---|---|
| New York | 6 hours behind |
| Los Angeles | 9 hours behind |
| London | 1 hour behind |
| Lagos | 1 hour behind |
| Nairobi | 1 hour ahead |
| Dubai | 2 hours ahead |
| Perth | 6 hours ahead |
| Sydney | 9 hours ahead |
| Your time zone | Detected after this page loads |
Convert a time between any two placesDaylight saving dates around the world
How South Africa keeps its time
- The official time
- NMISA
- The National Metrology Institute of South Africa keeps the country's master clock at its time and frequency laboratory in Pretoria. That clock is the reference for official time in South Africa, and in Lesotho and Eswatini too.
- Cape Town's late sunsets
- 30° E
- South African time is set for the 30° east meridian, in the east of the country. Cape Town lies far to the west of it. So the sun rises and sets there later by the clock than in Durban. In effect, Cape Town keeps something close to summer time all year.
- The same time across the border
- 6
- All six countries that border South Africa keep the same time. Lesotho and Eswatini share its zone and call it SAST. Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique call it Central Africa Time. None of them change their clocks, so crossing a border does not mean resetting a watch.
- Daylight saving, only in wartime
- 2
- South Africa moved its clocks forward for summer only twice, in two summers during the Second World War. It has kept standard time all year ever since.
Questions about time in South Africa
What time zone is South Africa in?
All of South Africa keeps one time zone, South African Standard Time, SAST, UTC+2. Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town show the same time, and so do Lesotho and Eswatini. The national clock is kept in Pretoria by the National Metrology Institute of South Africa.
Does South Africa have daylight saving time?
No. South Africa stays on SAST, UTC+2 all year. It last moved its clocks for summer during the Second World War. Its gap with Europe and North America still shifts twice a year, because they change their clocks.
Is South Africa on the same time as the UK?
Not quite. London is 2 hours behind South Africa in the British winter. It is one hour behind in summer, when the UK moves its clocks forward and South Africa does not. So when London offices open, it is mid-morning in Johannesburg.
What is the time difference between South Africa and the US?
New York is 7 hours behind South Africa in winter. The gap is one hour less in the American summer, when the US moves its clocks forward. Los Angeles is 10 hours behind South Africa in winter. The table above shows today's gap, already adjusted for the season.
What is the time difference between South Africa and Australia?
Perth is 6 hours ahead of South Africa all year, since neither changes its clocks. Sydney is 8 hours ahead of South Africa in the southern winter. It is one hour more in summer, when New South Wales moves its clocks forward for daylight saving.
Time zone names for developers
| IANA zone | Standard time | Daylight saving time |
|---|---|---|
| Africa/Johannesburg | SAST, UTC+2 | No |
Sources
We checked each fact on this page against these sources on 30 September 2026. Times, offsets and clock changes come from the time zone database.