According to the decision of the Government of Kazakhstan, from March 1, 2024, the current Eastern five time zone (UTC+5) and the Eastern six time zone (UTC+6) will be unified into the Eastern Five time zone (UTC+5).
At that time, the three municipalities of Astana, Almaty and Chimkent, as well as the 12 central and eastern regions of Kazakhstan, will slow down their clocks by one hour at 00:00 on March 1st. After the adjustment, the entire territory of Kazakhstan are used in the East five time zone (UTC +5), three hours later than Beijing time.
Kazakhstan is located in the center of the Eurasian continent and is the world’s largest landlocked country.In February 2023, Kazakhstan set up a working group on time calculation to conduct a study on the establishment of a single time zone. The expert group said the transition to a single time zone is the right choice.
According to the expert group, the harmonization of time zones will not only benefit the health of the population, but will also help to eliminate barriers to communication among people living in different parts of the country, improve transport and communications, and have a positive impact on the conduct of business and services.