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Georgia Time
Georgia Time
Georgia Time
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Time in Europe:
Light Blue Western European Time / Greenwich Mean Time (UTC)
Blue Western European Time / Greenwich Mean Time (UTC)
Western European Summer Time / British Summer Time / Irish Standard Time (UTC+1)
Red Central European Time (UTC+1)
Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)
Yellow Eastern European Time / Kaliningrad Time (UTC+2)
Ochre Eastern European Time (UTC+2)
Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3)
Green Moscow Time / Turkey Time (UTC+3)
Turquoise Armenia Time / Azerbaijan Time / Georgia Time / Samara Time (UTC+4)
▉▉▉▉ Pale hues: Standard time observed all year
  ▉▉▉   Dark hues: Daylight saving time

Georgia Time (GET) is a time zone used in Georgia[a] and it is uniform throughout the country. It moved from zone UTC+04:00 to UTC+03:00 on 27 June 2004, then back to UTC+04:00 on 27 March 2005.[1][2] Georgia has not observed daylight saving time since 2004.

The IANA time zone database contains one zone for Georgia in the file zone.tab, named after Georgian capital city, Tbilisi.[3] In Georgia, it is called the Tbilisi Time (Georgian: თბილისის დრო, romanized: Tbilisis Dro).

Notes

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References

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Georgia Time

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Georgia Time (GET) is the time zone observed throughout the Republic of Georgia, corresponding to Coordinated Universal Time plus four hours (UTC+4:00).
Georgia has maintained this offset as its standard time year-round, without implementing daylight saving time since its last observance ended in 2004.
The zone applies uniformly to the internationally recognized territory of Georgia, though the partially recognized regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia de facto follow Moscow Standard Time (UTC+3:00).
As a fixed time standard in the South Caucasus, GET facilitates consistent scheduling for the nation's economic, governmental, and daily activities, aligning Georgia with neighboring countries like Azerbaijan and Armenia in forgoing seasonal clock adjustments.

Definition and Characteristics

Time Offset and Uniformity

Georgia Time (GET), the standard time zone for Georgia, maintains a fixed offset of UTC+04:00. This offset aligns with Coordinated Universal Time plus four hours and serves as the baseline for civil, legal, and commercial activities within the country's jurisdiction. GET is applied uniformly across Georgia's internationally recognized territory under the effective control of the central government, ensuring a single time standard without regional variations in the administered areas. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) designates Asia/Tbilisi as the canonical time zone identifier for this region, reflecting its consistent implementation in computational systems and global time databases. This uniformity facilitates synchronized operations in transportation, broadcasting, and telecommunications throughout the controlled mainland and adjacent regions.

Absence of Daylight Saving Time

Georgia permanently ceased observing daylight saving time after the final transition on October 30, 2005, when clocks were set back one hour to UTC+4 standard time, with no further advances implemented thereafter. This policy shift prioritized unchanging civil time year-round to minimize disruptions from clock adjustments, which empirical studies link to short-term spikes in human error, workplace accidents, and cardiovascular events due to circadian rhythm misalignment. The rationale emphasized scheduling stability, particularly for , where fixed preserves alignment with solar dawn for management and fieldwork, avoiding the morning light loss imposed by DST shifts—a echoed in opposition worldwide since the practice's early . Energy usage patterns also benefit from permanence, as from analogous permanent-time jurisdictions show negligible or counterproductive DST effects on consumption, with mismatched evening extensions often offsetting any purported savings through heightened residential and cooling demands. In contrast to Soviet-era practices, where DST was uniformly mandated starting in across republics to synchronize with central directives—disregarding local solar variations that left eastern areas like Georgia with prolonged artificial offsets from natural noon—post-independence policy favors empirical alignment with geographic over ideological uniformity. This approach reduces chronic desynchronization risks, supporting consistent international coordination without seasonal variances.

Historical Development

Pre-Independence Era

During the Soviet era, from the incorporation of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic into the USSR in 1922 until independence in 1991, Georgia observed a standard time offset of UTC+04:00, known as Tbilisi Time or aligned with the broader Transcaucasian zone used in the region. This offset was imposed centrally by Soviet authorities in Moscow, without local autonomy over timekeeping decisions, reflecting the USSR's emphasis on administrative uniformity across republics for coordination of rail transport, industrial production, and military operations. Empirical solar calculations based on Georgia's longitude span of approximately 41°E to 47°E indicate a natural mean solar offset closer to UTC+03:00 (e.g., Tbilisi at 44.8°E equates to roughly 2 hours 59 minutes east of UTC), making the UTC+04:00 standard result in solar noons occurring about 1 hour later than clock noon, with correspondingly later sunrises and sunsets relative to civil time. This misalignment prioritized systemic integration over local solar alignment, as Soviet planning favored synchronized operations across vast territories; for instance, rail schedules adhered to designated zone times rather than adjusting for precise longitudinal variations, facilitating cross-republic logistics despite the added discrepancy for eastern workers' daily rhythms. Daylight saving time was absent until 1981, when the USSR reintroduced it across participating republics, advancing clocks by one hour to UTC+05:00 from April to October for energy conservation and extended evening productivity, a policy Georgia followed without deviation. Prior to 1981, the fixed UTC+04:00 prevailed, with no adjustments for seasonal variation, underscoring the centralized decree-driven approach that subordinated regional geography to ideological and economic imperatives. Historical records indicate occasional earlier variations, such as a pre-1941 split into multiple zones within Georgia, but by the mid-20th century, uniformity at UTC+04:00 dominated under Moscow's oversight.

Adoption Post-1991 Independence

Following its from the on April 9, 1991, Georgia retained the offset previously used in the , formalizing it as Georgia Standard Time (GET) to establish national control over timekeeping independent of Moscow's decrees. This continuity avoided disruption while symbolizing sovereignty, as the offset aligned with the Transcaucasian time zone applied under Soviet administration. , at approximately 44.8° E , lies closer to the meridian for mean solar time (each 15° equating to one hour), yet was maintained for economic coordination with neighbors like and , which also use , facilitating trade and communication despite the one-hour deviation from local noon. Georgia initially continued daylight saving time (DST) observance post-independence, advancing clocks by one hour during summer months under claims of and extended evening daylight. For instance, in 1991, DST concluded on September 29, with clocks turned back from 3:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. , following a scheduled but unexecuted spring advance on March 31 due to the concurrent time zone formalization. This practice, inherited from Soviet-era policies, endured through the 1990s and into the early 2000s, typically shifting from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in or . The adoption reflected pragmatic rejection of uniform Soviet temporal imposition without altering the underlying offset, prioritizing regional over strict solar alignment; no major legislative overhaul was immediately enacted beyond affirming national jurisdiction, as evidenced by the seamless transition observed in official records.

The 2004-2005 Shift and Reversion

On , 2004, the government of Georgia decreed a shift from to , eliminating in the process, with the explicit aim of enhancing of standard with those in . This adjustment, which effectively set clocks back by one hour, was intended to increase overlap between Georgian working hours (typically 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) and (CET, ), thereby facilitating trade, financial transactions, and diplomatic engagements during peak European operational periods without reliance on seasonal time shifts. The policy encountered swift resistance from economic stakeholders and the populace, who reported practical disruptions including reduced coordination with major regional partners such as and (both on ) and ( but with differing business norms), alongside mismatches with local solar cycles that led to darker winter evenings and earlier summer sunrises misaligned with daily routines. In response to these empirical complaints, documented through public consultations and business , the approved a reversion to effective , , restoring the prior offset and committing to year-round . This reversion underscored a preference for temporal stability rooted in Georgia's geographical longitude (approximately 41°–46° E, favoring for midday solar noon alignment) and enduring economic ties eastward, over ephemeral Western synchronization benefits that failed to yield anticipated gains in productivity or investment flows. Since 2005, Georgia has maintained without DST, prioritizing consistent clock-time predictability amid evidence from global analyses showing negligible from seasonal adjustments—typically under 0.03% of total consumption—over the administrative and costs of biannual shifts.

Geographical Application

Coverage in Sovereign Georgia

Georgia Time (GET), equivalent to UTC+4, is applied uniformly across Georgia's sovereign territory, comprising the nine administrative regions—Guria, , , , , , , Samtskhe-Javakheti, and —and the Autonomous Republic of , all under the effective control of the central government in . This uniformity reflects the country's compact geographical span, primarily between longitudes 40°E and 46°E, which does not necessitate multiple time zones for practical purposes. The IANA time zone identifier Asia/Tbilisi governs this area, fixing the offset at UTC+4 year-round without seasonal adjustments. Major population centers adhere strictly to GET, including the capital Tbilisi with approximately 1.2 million residents, Batumi as Adjara's hub serving over 150,000 people, and Kutaisi, western Georgia's key city with around 140,000 inhabitants, all synchronized to the national standard. Official synchronization extends to critical infrastructure, with national broadcasts and transport networks calibrated to GET to facilitate coordination within these controlled regions.

Usage in Disputed Territories

In , territories internationally recognized as part of Georgia but under Russian occupation since the early 1990s Abkhazian War and the 2008 , local clocks follow Moscow Standard Time (MSK; ) year-round, without daylight saving adjustments. This one-hour deviation from Georgia Time (GET; ) stems from the regions' administrative alignment with the Russian Federation, where MSK serves as the standard across its European zones, enabling seamless coordination in trade, telecommunications, and military operations. De facto control by Russian forces and governance structures enforces MSK usage, overriding Tbilisi's nominal authority despite Georgia's constitutional claims to the territories' full integration under GET. Abkhaz and South Ossetian authorities justify the policy on grounds of practical interoperability with , their primary economic partner and security guarantor, rather than any formal time zone decree. Georgian officials, emphasizing , regard GET as legally binding across the entire country, including these areas, though enforcement remains impossible amid ongoing separation. No significant initiatives from either side have sought to harmonize times, underscoring the entrenched geopolitical divide over territorial control.

International Context and Impacts

Alignment with Neighboring Regions

Georgia Time at UTC+4:00 aligns with the standard time observed in and , both also fixed at UTC+4:00 without , fostering synchronized operations across borders. This coordination facilitates regional trade and infrastructure projects, including the –– oil , which began transporting Azerbaijani oil through Georgia to in May 2005, shortly after Georgia's reversion to UTC+4:00. The one-hour offset from 's UTC+3:00 and Russia's regions, which follow at UTC+3:00, introduces minor discrepancies in cross-border scheduling with those neighbors. Georgia's longitudes, spanning approximately 40°E to 46°E with at 44.83°E, position it closer to the UTC+3:00 meridian of 45°E than UTC+4:00's 60°E, making the latter's clock about 45 minutes advanced relative to local . Nonetheless, the permanent UTC+4:00 adopted in March 2005 prioritizes economic ties with and over solar optimization, avoiding the recurrent circadian disruptions from Soviet-era daylight saving transitions imposed under , which research associates with elevated risks of , strokes, and accidents. Studies on chronic misalignment further suggest that clock times advanced ahead of solar noon, as occurs in western segments of a time zone like Georgia within UTC+4:00, correlate with higher incidences of certain cancers and suicides due to perturbations. This underscores the policy preference for regional uniformity despite potential long-term health costs from suboptimal solar alignment.

Economic and Practical Implications

The absence of daylight saving time in Georgia enables consistent daily scheduling, mitigating the short-term productivity declines associated with clock transitions observed in countries that observe DST. Studies analyzing worker activity, such as GitHub contributions, indicate that the spring forward adjustment reduces output by disrupting sleep patterns, with effects persisting up to two weeks and implying economic costs from cognitive impairment and increased errors. By maintaining permanent UTC+4, Georgia avoids these disruptions, supporting stable operations in sectors reliant on precise coordination, including agriculture where alignment with natural light cycles minimizes fatigue in rural labor-intensive activities. Georgia's UTC+4 aligns with key eastern trade partners, facilitating real-time collaboration in infrastructure. Azerbaijan, Georgia's second-largest export destination and a of transit via pipelines like Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, shares the same , enabling seamless operational synchronization in the sector that contributes significantly to transit fees and GDP. This compatibility extends to Gulf states such as the UAE (UTC+4), which have invested in Georgian projects, reducing coordination lags compared to differing zones. However, the time zone creates challenges for commerce with western partners. Turkey and Russia, comprising major import sources, operate on UTC+3, resulting in a one-hour offset that shortens business-hour overlaps during standard operations. With the —Georgia's largest trading bloc under the Deep and Comprehensive —the difference widens to 3-4 hours relative to CET (UTC+1/+2), potentially compressing effective communication windows for exporters in and services. In 2004, Georgia temporarily shifted to UTC+3 to enhance overlap with European markets, but reverted to UTC+4 after less than a year, suggesting the adjustment yielded insufficient advantages to justify the transition costs. advocates had pushed for the change citing potential gains in EU-facing hours, yet the rapid reversion implies minimal verifiable uplift in transaction volumes or efficiency relative to the disruption of realigning internal schedules. This outcome underscores a preference for stability over marginal alignment tweaks, particularly given Georgia's diversified partner base where eastern synergies in outweigh isolated western optimizations.

References

  1. https://www.worlddata.info/timezones/get-georgia-time.php
  2. https://www.timeanddate.com/time/change/georgia
  3. https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/georgia
  4. https://www.worldtimeserver.com/time-zones/get/
  5. https://savvytime.com/converter/georgia-tbilisi-to-utc
  6. https://data.iana.org/time-zones/tzdb-2018c/asia
  7. https://www.utctime.info/timezone/Asia--Tbilisi/
  8. https://www.timeanddate.com/time/change/georgia?year=2005
  9. https://www.fb.org/focus-on-agriculture/saving-daylight-but-for-whom
  10. https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/georgia/tbilisi?year=1988
  11. https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union
  12. https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/georgia/tbilisi
  13. https://www.reddit.com/r/Sakartvelo/comments/1ck5foa/what_was_georgias_time_zone_in_1990_was_it_fixed/
  14. https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/georgia/tbilisi
  15. https://www.timeanddate.com/time/change/georgia?year=1991
  16. https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/georgia/tbilisi?year=2004
  17. https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/tz/2004-October/037769.html
  18. https://www.reddit.com/r/Sakartvelo/comments/nnkc5u/why_is_georgia_in_the_utc4_time_zone_if_its/
  19. https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/georgia/tbilisi?year=2005
  20. https://www1.eere.energy.gov/ba/pba/pdfs/edst_national_energy_consumption.pdf
  21. https://time.is/Tbilisi
  22. https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/georgia/kutaisi
  23. https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/georgia/abkhazia
  24. https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/georgia/south-ossetia
  25. https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/azt
  26. https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/armenia/yerevan
  27. https://www.gem.wiki/Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan_Pipeline
  28. https://www.travelmath.com/time-change/from/Turkey/to/Armenia
  29. https://geotimedate.org/sun/georgia/kalaki-tbilisi/tbilisi
  30. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/7-things-to-know-about-daylight-saving-time
  31. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1087079225001145
  32. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6436388/
  33. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016503272300931X
  34. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167268124003639
  35. https://news.uoregon.edu/content/daylight-saving-time-linked-lost-worker-productivity
  36. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/abolishing-daylight-saving-time-easy-setting-permanent-time-not
  37. https://wits.worldbank.org/countrysnapshot/GEO
  38. https://www.iea.org/reports/georgia-energy-profile/overview
  39. https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/georgia-business-travel
  40. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/georgia/overview
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