East Africa Time (EAT) is UTC+3 — permanently 3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). EAT is observed year-round across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Madagascar, with no daylight saving adjustments in any of these countries.
UTC to EAT conversion — key facts
- EAT offset: UTC+3, permanent
- IANA identifiers: Africa/Nairobi, Africa/Kampala, Africa/Dar_es_Salaam, Africa/Addis_Ababa, Africa/Mogadishu
- Countries on EAT: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Madagascar, Comoros
- Daylight saving time: Not observed in any EAT country
- Difference from London (GMT): +3 hours in winter, +2 hours during BST
- Difference from New York (EST): +8 hours in winter, +7 hours during EDT
- Difference from Dubai (GST): 0 hours — Dubai (UTC+3) and EAT are identical
UTC to EAT conversion table
| UTC | East Africa Time (EAT) |
|---|---|
| 00:00 (midnight) | 03:00 |
| 03:00 | 06:00 |
| 06:00 | 09:00 |
| 09:00 | 12:00 (noon) |
| 12:00 (noon) | 15:00 |
| 15:00 | 18:00 |
| 18:00 | 21:00 |
| 21:00 | 00:00 (midnight next day) |
To convert any UTC time to EAT: add 3 hours. If the result exceeds 24:00, subtract 24 and move to the next calendar day.
Why EAT has no daylight saving time
East African countries sit close to the equator, where the length of day varies minimally throughout the year. The practical rationale for daylight saving time — adjusting clocks to extend usable evening daylight in summer — does not apply near the equator, where day length stays close to 12 hours year-round. All EAT countries have maintained fixed UTC+3 offsets since the mid-20th century without exception.
This makes EAT one of the most stable timezone references for international scheduling. The UTC+3 offset never changes. The only variable is the DST status of the city you are converting from — if you are in London, New York, or Sydney, your offset against EAT will shift by one hour during your local DST period.
EAT vs other African time zones
East Africa Time (EAT, UTC+3) is one of four major time zones on the African continent:
- GMT (UTC+0): Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania — West Africa's coastal belt
- WAT (UTC+1): Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Gabon, DRC (west)
- CAT (UTC+2): South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC (east)
- EAT (UTC+3): Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, Madagascar
Business hours in EAT countries — in UTC
Standard business hours across East African capitals (8:00–17:00 EAT) correspond to 05:00–14:00 UTC. This means that for a European caller wanting to reach a Nairobi or Kampala office during working hours, the call must happen before 14:00 UTC — which is before 14:00 GMT in winter or before 15:00 BST in summer.
Unlike some timezone calculators that approximate EAT as "GMT+3" (which is technically correct but mixes two different reference systems), TimezoneLink uses the IANA-standard UTC+3 offset directly, with no rounding or approximation.