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Time in Azerbaijan — regions, cities and time zones

Azerbaijan observes Azerbaijan Time (AZT) at UTC+4, without daylight saving. Baku, on the Caspian coast, keeps the same clock as Ganja, Sumqayit, Lankaran and the exclave of Nakhchivan — one offset for the entire country.

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Capital Baku · Asia · ISO AZ / AZE

Baku, Azerbaijan

Friday, 4 September 2026

UTC+4 · Asia/Baku

Time and sun data for Baku, Azerbaijan

The sun in Baku

Sunrise 06:12 Solar noon 12:41 Sunset 19:10 Daylight 12 h 59 min Night 11 h 01 min Civil twilight 05:44 – 19:38

States and regions (73)

Current time in Baku

Azerbaijan observes Azerbaijan Time (AZT) at UTC+4, without daylight saving. Baku, on the Caspian coast, keeps the same clock as Ganja, Sumqayit, Lankaran and the exclave of Nakhchivan — one offset for the entire country.

A single zone for the whole territory

Azerbaijan occupies about 86,600 square kilometres in the South Caucasus, bounded by the Caspian Sea, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and Iran. Its territory includes the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, physically separated from the main body of the country by Armenian territory. Nakhchivan nonetheless uses the same UTC+4 as Baku — the separation is geographic and political, not temporal.

The country is compact enough east to west that a single zone genuinely suits it. Baku sits at the far eastern edge, on the Absheron Peninsula, and the western border regions are only a few hundred kilometres away.

Daylight saving: discontinued

Azerbaijan does not use daylight saving time. The clock holds at UTC+4 through the whole year, so the country's offset from UTC never varies. What does vary is the gap to everyone who still shifts. Europe moves twice a year, Iran and Turkey have their own arrangements, and the result is that Azerbaijan's apparent distance from partners abroad changes without Baku doing anything. If you deal with Azerbaijan from a country that observes summer time, expect the difference to be one hour wider or narrower depending on the season — and expect the change to originate at your end.

The country that stopped changing its clocks did not simplify time zones; it simply stopped being the one that moved.

Neighbours and the half-hour problem

Azerbaijan's borders are a good illustration of how uneven regional time can be: Georgia and Armenia both sit at UTC+4 — same clock, no arithmetic needed. Turkey uses UTC+3, one hour behind. Iran, which borders both mainland Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan, uses a half-hour offset, so the difference is not a round number of hours.

Russia, to the north, has multiple zones, and the relevant one along the Azerbaijani border differs from Baku. The Iranian border is the one that causes real confusion. Cross it and the minute hand changes, not just the hour hand — an unusual experience for travellers used to whole-hour boundaries.

Regions and the working day

Azerbaijan is divided into districts and cities, none of which keep separate time. What differs across the country is climate and daylight: Baku and Absheron — the commercial centre, windy, and the reference for national schedules and the energy sector's international dealings.

Ganja and the west — inland, further from the Caspian's moderating influence. Lankaran and the south — subtropical, humid, close to the Iranian border. The Greater Caucasus north — mountainous, where terrain shortens the effective day in valley settlements.

Nakhchivan — the exclave, on Baku's clock despite being reached only through other countries or by air.

Questions and answers
What is the time zone in Azerbaijan?
Azerbaijan Time, AZT, at UTC+4, applied across the whole country including Nakhchivan.
Does Azerbaijan change its clocks for summer?
No. Azerbaijan does not observe daylight saving time; the offset stays at UTC+4.
Is Nakhchivan on a different time from Baku?
No. Despite being an exclave separated from the rest of the country, Nakhchivan uses the same UTC+4.

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