24-Hour Time Around the World
Updated June 20, 2026
Most of the world uses the 24-hour clock for written schedules, timetables, and official communication. The main exception is the English-speaking world and former British colonies. If you are traveling, the simplest rule is: if the country is in Europe or Latin America, expect 24-hour. If it is a former British colony, expect 12-hour. Here is the full breakdown.
Direct answer
In Europe, Latin America, and much of Asia, written times use 24-hour format: 18:30 means 6:30 PM. In the US, Canada, Australia, India, the Philippines, and most former British colonies, written times use 12-hour with AM/PM. In conversation, nearly everyone converts to 12-hour regardless of what is written on the schedule. Use the converter to check any time.
Time format by country
A comprehensive list of how each country or region handles time display. "Written" means what you see on schedules, signs, and official documents. "Spoken" means how people say the time in everyday conversation.
| Country / Region | Written | Spoken | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 24-hour | 12-hour | Uses "h" separator: 14h30 |
| Germany | 24-hour | 12/24 mix | Germans sometimes say "vierzehn Uhr" (14 o'clock) |
| Italy | 24-hour | 12-hour | Early 24h adopter (1893) |
| Spain | 24-hour | 12-hour | Meal times famously late: 14:00 lunch, 21:00 dinner |
| Netherlands | 24-hour | 12-hour | 24h standard in all written communication |
| Belgium | 24-hour | 12-hour | French/Dutch split follows same 24h pattern |
| Switzerland | 24-hour | 12-hour | All 4 official languages use 24h in writing |
| Sweden, Norway, Denmark | 24-hour | 12-hour | 24h universal. Spoken often 12h with context |
| Poland, Czechia, Slovakia | 24-hour | 12/24 mix | Often use 24h in speech too |
| UK | Mixed | 12-hour | BBC/rail use 24h. Daily life: 12h |
| Ireland | Mixed | 12-hour | Similar to UK pattern |
| US | 12-hour | 12-hour | Military/healthcare use 24h internally |
| Canada | Mixed | 12-hour | English: 12h. Quebec: 24h in writing |
| Mexico | 12-hour | 12-hour | Some official use of 24h |
| Brazil | 24-hour | 12-hour | "da manha/tarde/noite" for AM/PM |
| Argentina | 24-hour | 12-hour | 24h standard for schedules and business |
| Colombia | 12-hour | 12-hour | Exception in Latin America: 12h dominant |
| Chile, Peru | Mixed | 12-hour | 24h in official, 12h in daily |
| Japan | 24-hour | 12-hour | Trains/TV use 24h. "gozen/gogo" for AM/PM |
| South Korea | 24-hour | 12-hour | 24h for schedules and official use |
| China | 24-hour | 12-hour | 24h official. "shangwu/xiawu" in speech |
| Taiwan | 24-hour | 12-hour | Same pattern as China |
| India | 12-hour | 12-hour | Railways use 24h. Daily life: 12h |
| Philippines | 12-hour | 12-hour | Strong US cultural influence |
| Indonesia | 12-hour | 12-hour | "pagi/siang/sore/malam" for time of day |
| Australia / NZ | 12-hour | 12-hour | 24h in some transport/medical contexts |
| South Africa | Mixed | 12-hour | 24h in aviation and some official use |
| Nigeria | 12-hour | 12-hour | British colonial influence |
| Kenya, Uganda | 12-hour | 12-hour | Also British colonial pattern |
| Francophone Africa | 24-hour | 12-hour | Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, DRC, etc.: French pattern |
| Gulf states (UAE, Qatar, KSA) | 12-hour | 12-hour | 12h dominant. Some 24h in aviation/government |
| Israel | 24-hour | 12-hour | 24h in writing, 12h in Hebrew speech |
| Russia | 24-hour | 12-hour | 24h standard. Spoken uses 12h with context |
| Turkey | 24-hour | 12-hour | 24h in official schedules, 12h in chat |
The British Empire pattern
There is a simple way to predict which format a country uses: check whether it was part of the British Empire. Countries that were British colonies or dominions — the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, the Philippines — overwhelmingly use 12-hour time for daily life.
Countries that were not in the British sphere — continental Europe, Latin America, East Asia — standardized on 24-hour time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The exception that proves the rule: Francophone Africa. Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of Congo all use the 24-hour clock in writing, following the French pattern rather than the British one. Their neighbors across the border in Anglophone Africa use 12-hour.
This split is also about infrastructure timing. European countries built national railway networks in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Cross-border trains — Paris to Berlin, Milan to Vienna — needed unambiguous timetables. The 24-hour clock solved that. Britain and the US built railways earlier, when the 12-hour convention was still unchallenged, and never retrofitted their systems.
Country spotlights
France
Strict 24-hour in writing. Uses "h" instead of colon: 14h30. Spoken: "deux heures et demie" (two thirty), never "quatorze heures trente."
Germany
24-hour everywhere, even in casual text messages. Spoken German often uses 24-hour: "vierzehn Uhr" is normal for 2 PM. One of the few countries where 24h made it into speech.
Brazil
Written: 24-hour. Spoken: 12-hour with "da manha" (morning), "da tarde" (afternoon), "da noite" (night). A store sign says "8h-18h" but people say "oito da manha as seis da tarde."
Japan
Trains, TV listings, and official documents: 24-hour. Conversation: 12-hour with "gozen" (AM) and "gogo" (PM). A uniquely clean split between written and spoken.
Canada
A country divided. English Canada uses 12-hour. Quebec uses 24-hour in writing, following French convention. Government documents are bilingual in both formats.
United Kingdom
The most visible mixed-format country. BBC and National Rail use 24-hour. Daily conversation and informal writing: 12-hour. A Brit reads "19:00" on a train ticket and says "seven o'clock."
For travelers: how to read times abroad
If you are traveling from a 12-hour country to a 24-hour country, you will see 24-hour times everywhere:
- Train and bus tickets. The departure and arrival times are always 24-hour. 18:30 means early evening, not morning.
- Flight confirmations. Non-US airlines use 24-hour on boarding passes and confirmations.
- Hotel check-in signs. "Check-in: 14:00. Check-out: 11:00." You will see this exact format across Europe.
- Museum and attraction hours. "Open 10:00-18:00" means 10 AM to 6 PM.
- Restaurant reservations. Booking confirmations from European restaurants use 24-hour. "19:30" is 7:30 PM.
- Concert and event tickets. Doors at 19:00, show at 20:00.
Quick mental conversion: If the hour is above 12, subtract 12. 14:00 = 2 PM. 19:30 = 7:30 PM. 22:00 = 10 PM. After a day or two of seeing these, the conversion becomes automatic. For a full chart, see the time conversion chart.