Twice a year, billions of people change their clocks. They lose an hour of sleep, reschedule their bodies, and spend weeks feeling vaguely jet-lagged without having gone anywhere. But a growing number of countries have said enough — and abolished daylight saving time permanently. Here's who they are and why they did it.
Which major countries never observe DST?
The majority of the world's population actually lives in countries that never observe daylight saving time. These include:
- China — abolished DST in 1991. Tried it from 1986-1991 and decided it wasn't worth it for a country with one time zone.
- Japan — tried DST briefly after WWII under American occupation, hated it, abolished it in 1952.
- India — never observed DST nationally. Too close to the equator for meaningful daylight variation.
- Most of Africa — the majority of African countries have never observed DST.
- Most of Southeast Asia — Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and others have never changed their clocks.
Countries that recently abolished DST
Several countries have permanently abolished daylight saving time in recent years:
- Russia — abolished DST in 2014 after public health studies showed spikes in heart attacks after every clock change.
- Turkey — abolished DST in 2016, permanently staying on UTC+3 (summer time).
- Argentina — stopped observing DST in 2008.
- Brazil — abolished DST in 2019 after President Bolsonaro signed a decree ending it.
- Egypt — abolished DST in 2011 during the Arab Spring.
- Morocco — a special case: keeps DST year-round but suspends it during Ramadan.
Why do countries abolish daylight saving time?
The original argument for DST was energy savings — by shifting daylight to evening hours, people would use less artificial light. But modern research has largely debunked this. Studies show that DST actually increases energy consumption in many climates because of increased air conditioning use in warmer evenings.
The health arguments against DST are stronger. Research consistently shows increased rates of heart attacks, strokes and traffic accidents in the week following the spring clock change. Sleep disruption affects millions of people, with measurable drops in workplace productivity.
Will the EU and US abolish DST?
Both the European Union and the United States have been debating abolishing DST for years. The EU voted to end seasonal clock changes in 2019 but the implementation has been repeatedly delayed as member states can't agree on whether to stay on permanent summer time or permanent winter time.
In the US, the Sunshine Protection Act — which would make daylight saving time permanent — passed the US Senate unanimously in 2022 but stalled in the House. As of 2025, Americans still change their clocks twice a year.