What time is it in Albania?
CET / CEST · Europe/Tirane
Back to AlbaniaNow in Tirana
CET UTC+01:00
UTC+01:00
UTC+02:00 in summerCentral European Standard Time
One zone covers all of Albania, from Shkodër to the Ionian coast. In winter the clocks show Central European Time, an hour ahead of UTC; on the last Sunday in March they go forward to Central European Summer Time, UTC+2, and on the last Sunday in October they come back. The hour matches Italy's across the Strait of Otranto, while Greece, on the southern border, runs an hour ahead all year.
Today
Daylight in Tirana today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 06:33First light 06:06
- Sunset
- 18:29Last light 18:56
- Day length
- 11 h 56 min−2 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 12:31Sun at 47°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in Albania and elsewhere
The two rows are the same day, hour for hour. Pick a city, then an hour, and the line between the rows marks the office hours both sides share.
Time difference
How far Albania is from other places
Neighbours
- GreeceAthens+1 h
- MontenegroPodgoricaSame time
- North MacedoniaSkopjeSame time
- SerbiaBelgradeSame time
- KosovoPristinaSame time
Around the world
- London−1 h
- New York−6 h
- Los Angeles−9 h
- São Paulo−5 h
- Moscow+1 h
- Dubai+2 h
- Delhi+3:30 h
- Beijing+6 h
- Tokyo+7 h
- Sydney+8 h
Clock changes
When the clocks change in Albania
Next change
Sunday, 25 October 2026
Clocks go back one hour: at 03:00 it becomes 02:00 CET, UTC+01:00. The night is an hour longer.
| Year | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 29 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 25 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2027 | 28 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 31 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2028 | 26 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 29 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2029 | 25 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 28 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2030 | 31 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 27 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
The time zone database gives Tirana an offset of UTC+1:19 until 1913, and Albania adopted Central European Time in 1914. Summer time first ran in 1940; the clocks then stayed an hour forward through all of 1941, and the seasonal change was made again in 1942 and 1943. From 1944 to 1973 the country kept standard time the year round. The change has been made every year since 1974.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Tirana
- Sunrise
- 06:33
- Sunset
- 18:29
- Daylight
- 11 h 56 min
- Change
- −2 min
Longest day of 2026: 18 June, 15 h 10 min.
Computed for 41.33, 19.82 at sea level with the NOAA solar equations, to the nearest minute, taking no account of hills.
Writing the time
- Clock
- 12-hour
- Short date
- 5.3.26
- Long date
- 5 mars 2026
- Week starts
- Monday
- Zone names
- CET / CEST
- Time zone database
- Tirane
History
How the clocks in Albania got here
- 1890
- To 1913.Local mean time, UTC+01:19, before the standard zone.
- 1914
- To 1939.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1940
- UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1941
- Summer time kept through the winter: UTC+02:00 all year.
- 1942
- UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1943
- UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1944
- To 1973.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1974
- To today.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
From the IANA time zone database, Europe/Tirane, as the build machine carries it.
Common questions
Questions about the time in Albania
What time zone is Albania in?
Central European Time, UTC+1, in winter, and Central European Summer Time, UTC+2, from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. There is no second zone: Tirana, Shkodër, Durrës and Sarandë all show the same hour. The time zone database files the country as Europe/Tirane.
When do the clocks change in Albania in 2026 and 2027?
In 2026 the clocks went forward on Sunday 29 March, from 02:00 to 03:00, and they go back on Sunday 25 October, from 03:00 to 02:00. In 2027 the spring change falls on 28 March, which is also Catholic Easter Sunday, so the night before Easter is an hour shorter. The autumn change in 2027 is on 31 October.
Is Albania on the same time as Greece?
No. Greece keeps Eastern European Time, UTC+2, and summer time at UTC+3, so it is one hour ahead of Albania throughout the year; both countries change their clocks on the same Sundays, which keeps the gap fixed. Italy, across the Adriatic, shares Albania's hour exactly: 12:00 in Tirana is 12:00 in Rome and 13:00 in Athens.
Why is the zone called Europe/Tirane and not Europe/Tirana?
The time zone database names each zone after a city, and it spells this one Tirane rather than Tirana, the form English sources use for the capital. The entry places its reference point at 41°20′ north and 19°50′ east and covers the whole country, so software set to Europe/Tirane shows the correct hour anywhere from the Montenegrin border to the Greek one.
How long has Albania used summer time?
Every year since 1974, always on the European pattern of a spring and an autumn change. Before that there were three short episodes: summer time in 1940, a whole year an hour forward in 1941, and summer time again in 1942 and 1943. Between 1944 and 1973 the clocks never moved.
Does Albania follow the European Union's clock change rules?
Albania is not a member of the European Union, but its clocks change at the same instant as those of the member states: 01:00 UTC on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October. Locally that means 02:00 becomes 03:00 in spring and 03:00 becomes 02:00 in autumn, the same as in Italy, Greece and the rest of the continent that keeps summer time. The one-hour gap with neighbours therefore never widens or closes for a few weeks, as it does against countries that change on other dates.
Does Albania use a 12-hour or a 24-hour clock?
The Unicode locale data for Albanian as written in Albania formats times on a 12-hour clock, with a phrase for the part of the day: 14:30 comes out as 2:30 e pasdites, the afternoon. Dates are written day first, 5.3.26 in short form and 5 mars 2026 in full, and the week starts on Monday.