What time is it in Sweden?
CET / CEST · Europe/Stockholm
Back to SwedenNow in Stockholm
CET UTC+01:00
UTC+01:00
UTC+02:00 in summerCentral European Standard Time
One clock covers Sweden from Smygehuk on the Baltic to Treriksröset, where the borders with Norway and Finland meet: Central European Time, UTC+1, called centraleuropeisk tid in Swedish, which Sweden adopted in 1900. Summer time, UTC+2, starts at 02:00 on the last Sunday in March and ends at 03:00 on the last Sunday in October.
Today
Daylight in Stockholm today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 06:44First light 06:04
- Sunset
- 18:32Last light 19:12
- Day length
- 11 h 48 min−5 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 12:38Sun at 29°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in Sweden 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 Sweden is from other places
Neighbours
- DenmarkCopenhagenSame time
- FinlandHelsinki+1 h
- NorwayOsloSame 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 Sweden
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 |
Sweden first tried summer time on 15 May 1916. It proved unpopular, and on 30 September that year the clocks went back to standard time and stayed there for more than half a century, the Second World War included, while Norway kept summer time from 1940 to 1945. It returned on 6 April 1980, the same year Norway and Denmark brought it back. From 1981 the start has always been the last Sunday in March; the end came on the last Sunday in September until 1995 and has come on the last Sunday in October since 1996, when the European Union and several countries then outside it unified the date.
In 2017 Sweden was among the critics of the twice-yearly change, alongside Poland, while the Finnish and Lithuanian parliaments voted for proposals asking the European Union to reconsider it. The European Parliament voted on 26 March 2019 to end seasonal changes from 2021 and let each member state pick permanent summer or winter time. The Council of the European Union had not approved the directive by March 2026, so Swedish clocks still go forward in spring and back in autumn.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Stockholm
- Sunrise
- 06:44
- Sunset
- 18:32
- Daylight
- 11 h 48 min
- Change
- −5 min
Longest day of 2026: 21 June, 18 h 38 min.
Computed for 59.33, 18.07 at sea level with the NOAA solar equations, to the nearest minute, taking no account of hills.
Writing the time
- Clock
- 24-hour
- Short date
- 2026-03-05
- Long date
- 5 mars 2026
- Week starts
- Monday
- Zone names
- CET / CEST
- Time zone database
- Stockholm
History
How the clocks in Sweden got here
- 1970
- To 1979.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1980
- To today.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
From the IANA time zone database, Europe/Stockholm, as the build machine carries it. The database keeps this zone's own history from 1970 only; the years before are told above from the sources.
Common questions
Questions about the time in Sweden
What time zone is Sweden in?
Central European Time, UTC+1, in Swedish centraleuropeisk tid, and Central European Summer Time, UTC+2, from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. There is a single zone for the whole country, so Malmö, Stockholm and Kiruna show the same time. The time zone database files Sweden under Europe/Stockholm.
When do the clocks change in Sweden in 2026?
They went forward on Sunday 29 March 2026, jumping from 02:00 to 03:00, and go back on Sunday 25 October, when 03:00 becomes 02:00 again. In 2027 the Sundays are 28 March and 31 October. Every change happens at 01:00 UTC, the moment fixed for all of Europe that observes summer time, so Norway and Denmark move in the same instant.
Is Sweden on the same time as Finland?
No. Finland keeps Eastern European Time, UTC+2, so Helsinki is an hour ahead of Stockholm in winter and in summer, since both change their clocks at the same moment. A ferry across the Gulf of Bothnia from Umeå to Vaasa, or across the Baltic from Stockholm to Turku, arrives in a different zone. Norway and Denmark, by contrast, share Swedish time all year.
When did Sweden start using summer time?
On 15 May 1916, and only until 30 September of that year: the experiment proved unpopular and was not repeated. Summer time came back on 6 April 1980 and has been kept every year since. After 1980 it began on the last Sunday in March and ended on the last Sunday in September, until 1996 moved the end to the last Sunday in October.
Did Sweden have summer time during the Second World War?
No. After the single summer of 1916 Sweden kept standard time all year for more than half a century, the war years included. Norway, by contrast, observed summer time from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1959 to 1965. The two countries came back into step in 1980, when both reintroduced it together with Denmark.
Will Sweden stop changing the clocks?
Not yet. Sweden was among the countries criticising the practice in 2017, and on 26 March 2019 the European Parliament voted to end seasonal changes from 2021, with each member state choosing summer or winter time for good. The proposal needs the Council of the European Union as well, which had not approved it by March 2026. A debate in the Parliament on 23 October 2025 found every speaker in favour of stopping the change, but no date was set, so the clocks keep changing twice a year.
How long are the days in Stockholm in summer and winter?
In late June the sun is up for more than 18 hours in Stockholm, and in late December for only around 6. Further north the range is wider still: about 15% of Sweden lies north of the Arctic Circle, where the sun does not set for part of each summer and does not rise for part of each winter.
How are times and dates written in Sweden?
Times use the 24-hour clock with a colon, 14:30, although full stops were long the more common separator and 14.30 is still seen. The short date runs year, month, day, so 5 March 2026 is written 2026-03-05, and the long form is 5 mars 2026, with the month in lower case. The week starts on Monday.