Time ZonesAbout this time zone
All of Jamaica keeps one time. Computers and phones know it by the zone name America/Jamaica. Its time is UTC−5, which means it is 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) all year round. The short name used for this time is EST. Compared with India (IST), it is 10 hours 30 minutes behind India.
Clock changes in 2026 and 2027
Jamaica does not change its clocks in 2026 or 2027. The time stays at UTC−5 all year, so there is no daylight saving time to remember.
Time difference with major cities
| When it is 12:00 noon in Jamaica, it is | In January 2026 | In July 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| India | 10:30 pm10 hours 30 minutes ahead | 10:30 pm10 hours 30 minutes ahead |
| United Kingdom | 5:00 pm5 hours ahead | 6:00 pm6 hours ahead |
| France | 6:00 pm6 hours ahead | 7:00 pm7 hours ahead |
| New York, United States | 12:00 pmsame time | 1:00 pm1 hour ahead |
| Chicago, United States | 11:00 am1 hour behind | 12:00 pmsame time |
| Los Angeles, United States | 9:00 am3 hours behind | 10:00 am2 hours behind |
| United Arab Emirates | 9:00 pm9 hours ahead | 9:00 pm9 hours ahead |
| Singapore | 1:00 am next day13 hours ahead | 1:00 am next day13 hours ahead |
| Japan | 2:00 am next day14 hours ahead | 2:00 am next day14 hours ahead |
| Sydney, Australia | 4:00 am next day16 hours ahead | 3:00 am next day15 hours ahead |
The table uses the offsets in force in mid January and mid July 2026. Use the converter for any other date.
Clock time and sun time in Jamaica
A time zone is an agreement, and the sun does not follow it exactly. Kingston, the largest city in this zone, lies at about 76.8° west. Each degree of longitude is worth four minutes, so by the sun alone its time would be about 5 hours 7 minutes behind UTC. The clock is set to UTC−5. The sun is therefore highest in the sky at about 12:07 pm by the clock, not at 12:00. That is a close match: clock and sun agree to within a quarter of an hour. Other places in the zone, to the east or west of Kingston, see the sun peak a little earlier or later. Through the year the figure also drifts by up to a quarter of an hour either way.
How long the day is
Kingston is about 18° north of the equator. On the longest day of the year, around 21 June, the sun is up for about 13 hours 13 minutes. On the shortest, around 21 December, for about 11 hours 3 minutes. The difference between summer and winter is about 2 hours 10 minutes, and the clocks stay the same all year.
Office hours shared with other places
If both sides work from 9 am to 6 pm, these are the hours when a call falls inside the working day at both ends. Times are for Jamaica.
- With India, all year: no shared office hour: 9:00 am here is 7:30 pm in India, and 6:00 pm here is 4:30 am there, so one side has to start early or stay late.
- With London, in January: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm here, which is 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm in London (4 hours shared). In July: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm here, which is 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm in London (3 hours shared).
- With New York, in January: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm here, which is 9:00 am to 6:00 pm in New York (9 hours shared). In July: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm here, which is 10:00 am to 6:00 pm in New York (8 hours shared).
How many people keep this time
The GeoNames list has 12 towns and cities of 15,000 people or more in this zone area, with about 1.5 million people between them. People in villages and smaller towns are not in that count, so the true number on this clock is higher.
Cities that keep this time
The largest cities in this zone: Kingston, Spanish Town, Portmore, Montego Bay, Mandeville, May Pen, Ocho Rios, Old Harbour, Linstead, Half Way Tree, Barrett Town, Savanna-la-Mar.
Places with exactly the same time
These zones show the same time as Jamaica through the whole year: Bogota, Colombia, Cancun, Mexico, Cayman, Cayman Islands, Eirunepe, Brazil, Guayaquil, Ecuador, Lima, Peru, Panama, Rio Branco, Brazil.
The clock above uses your device's clock and the time zone rules built into your browser. Rules on this page: IANA time zone database 2026f. See About and data sources.