<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr"><base href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/20/ramadan-2023-fasting-hours-and-iftar-times-around-the-world"><style id="print"></style><title>Ramadan 2023: Fasting hours and iftar times around the world | Interactive News | Al Jazeera</title><div class="original-url">On April 25, 2023 Ali Benmerzouga From the Cleveland Chapter will make a presentation on Ramadan. Please read and hope to see you on zoom. Cheerfully,<br><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/20/ramadan-2023-fasting-hours-and-iftar-times-around-the-world">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/20/ramadan-2023-fasting-hours-and-iftar-times-around-the-world</a><br><br></div><div id="article" role="article" style="-webkit-locale: "en"; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class="system exported">
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<div class="page" style="text-align: start; overflow-wrap: break-word; max-width: 100%;"><h1 class="title" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.95552em; line-height: 1.2141em; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-align: start; display: block; max-width: 100%;">Ramadan 2023: Fasting hours and iftar times around the world</h1><h2 class="subhead" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: start; display: block; color: rgba(27, 27, 27, 0.65); font-size: 1.46664em; margin-top: -0.35em; line-height: 1.27275em; max-width: 100%;">The pre-sunrise to sunset fast lasts anywhere from 12 to 18 hours, depending on where in the world you are.</h2><div class="metadata singleline" style="text-align: start; display: block; margin-bottom: 1.45em; margin-top: -0.7em; max-width: 100%;"><a href="/author/mohammed_haddad_201131616430386826" style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline; font-size: 1em !important; font-weight: normal !important; font-style: normal !important; display: inline !important;" class="byline">Mohammed Haddad</a></div><figure style="max-width: 100%; font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: -apple-system-font; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); margin: 0px;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><img loading="eager" fetchpriority="high" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/INTERACTIVE-Ramadan-2023-poster.png?resize=770%2C513&quality=80" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/INTERACTIVE-Ramadan-2023-poster.png?resize=120%2C80&quality=80 120w, /wp-content/uploads/2023/03/INTERACTIVE-Ramadan-2023-poster.png?resize=270%2C180&quality=80 270w, /wp-content/uploads/2023/03/INTERACTIVE-Ramadan-2023-poster.png?resize=375%2C250&quality=80 375w, /wp-content/uploads/2023/03/INTERACTIVE-Ramadan-2023-poster.png?resize=570%2C380&quality=80 570w, /wp-content/uploads/2023/03/INTERACTIVE-Ramadan-2023-poster.png?resize=770%2C513&quality=80 770w" sizes="(max-width: 120px) 120px, (max-width: 270px) 270px, (max-width: 375px) 375px, (max-width: 570px) 570px, (max-width: 770px) 770px, 770px" alt="INTERACTIVE - Ramadan 2023 - poster" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></div><figcaption style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.8em; width: 100%; font-size: 0.75rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);">(Al Jazeera)</figcaption></figure><p style="max-width: 100%;">The Muslim holy month of Ramadan will <a href="/news/2023/3/16/infographic-when-is-ramadan-2023" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">begin</a> on Thursday. The pre-sunrise to sunset fast lasts anywhere from 12 to 18 hours, depending on where you are in the world.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">Muslims believe that <a href="/news/2023/3/22/listen-to-ramadan-greetings-in-different-languages" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Ramadan</a> is the month when the first verses of the holy book <a href="/news/longform/2022/4/27/visualising-the-quran" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">Quran</a> were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad more than 1,400 years ago.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">The fast entails abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations during daylight hours to achieve greater “taqwa”, or consciousness of God.</p>
<h2 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.43em; max-width: 100%;">Why does Ramadan start on different dates every year?</h2>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">Ramadan begins 10 to 12 days earlier each year. This is because the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar Hijri calendar with months that are 29 or 30 days long.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">This year, the first day of fasting in Mecca will be on Thursday, <a href="/news/2023/3/16/infographic-when-is-ramadan-2023" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">March 23</a>, Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">Because the lunar year is shorter than the solar year by 11 days, Ramadan will be observed twice in the year 2030 – first beginning on January 5 and then starting on December 25.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">The next time Ramadan will start after March 23 will be 33 years from now – in the year 2056.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;"><img loading="lazy" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/INTERACTIVE-Ramadan-2023-33-year-calendar-2056.png?w=770&resize=770%2C770&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Ramadan 2023 - 33 year calendar 2056" data-recalc-dims="1" class="" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></p>
<h2 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.43em; max-width: 100%;">Fasting, iftar times around the world</h2>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">The number of daylight hours varies across the world.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">Muslims living in the world’s southernmost countries, such as Chile or New Zealand, will fast for an average of 12 hours while those living in northernmost countries, such as Iceland or Greenland, will have 17-plus hours fasts.</p><div class="clear" style="max-width: 100%; clear: both;"><div aria-label="Newsletter signup Widget" style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><div style="max-width: 100%;"><p style="max-width: 100%;"></p><h3 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.25em; max-width: 100%;">Sign up for Al Jazeera</h3><h4 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0px; max-width: 100%;">Week in the Middle East</h4><p></p></div></div></div></div>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">For Muslims living in the Northern Hemisphere, the number of fasting hours will be a bit shorter this year and will continue to decrease until 2031, which is the year Ramadan will encompass the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year. After that, fasting hours will increase until the summer solstice – the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">For Muslims living south of the equator, the opposite will happen.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">The predawn meal to start the daily fast is called suhoor, while the breaking of one’s fast after sunset is called iftar.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">Click or hover over the dots on the map below to see the suhoor and iftar times on the first day of Ramadan 2023.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">In extreme northernmost cities, such as Longyearbyen in Norway, where the sun does not set from April 20 to August 22, religious rulings have been issued to follow timings in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, or the nearest Muslim country.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">Below are the average number of fasting hours in cities around the world. Actual fasting hours and times will vary by day, as well as calculation methods:</p>
<h2 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.43em; max-width: 100%;">Which cities have the longest fasting hours?</h2>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">– Nuuk, Greenland: 17 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Reykjavik, Iceland: 17 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Helsinki, Finland: 17 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Stockholm, Sweden: 17 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Glasgow, Scotland: 17 hours</p>
<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2132110" style="max-width: 100%; font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: -apple-system-font; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); margin: 0px;"><img loading="lazy" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/INTERACTIVE-Ramadan-2023-Longest-fasting-hours.png?w=770&resize=770%2C770&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Ramadan 2023 - Longest fasting hours" data-recalc-dims="1" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""><figcaption style="max-width: 100%; margin-top: 0.8em; width: 100%; font-size: 0.75rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);">(Al Jazeera)</figcaption></figure>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">– Amsterdam, the Netherlands: 16 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Warsaw, Poland: 16 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– London, UK: 16 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Astana, Kazakhstan: 16 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Brussels, Belgium: 16 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Paris, France: 15 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Zurich, Switzerland: 15 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Bucharest, Romania: 15 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Ottawa, Canada: 15 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Sofia, Bulgaria: 15 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Rome, Italy: 15 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Madrid, Spain: 15 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina: 15 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Lisbon, Portugal: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Athens, Greece: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Beijing, China: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Washington, DC, US: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Pyongyang, North Korea: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Ankara, Turkey: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Rabat, Morocco: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Tokyo, Japan: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Islamabad, Pakistan: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Kabul, Afghanistan: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Tehran, Iran: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Baghdad, Iraq: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Beirut, Lebanon: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Damascus, Syria: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Cairo, Egypt: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Jerusalem: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Kuwait City, Kuwait: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Gaza City, Palestine: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– New Delhi, India: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Hong Kong: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Dhaka, Bangladesh: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Muscat, Oman: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Doha, Qatar: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Dubai, UAE: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Aden, Yemen: 14 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Dakar, Senegal: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Abuja, Nigeria: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Colombo, Sri Lanka: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Bangkok, Thailand: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Khartoum, Sudan: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 13 hours</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;"><img loading="lazy" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/INTERACTIVE-Ramadan-2023-Shortest-fasting-southern-hours.png?w=770&resize=770%2C770&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Ramadan 2023 - Shortest fasting southern hours" data-recalc-dims="1" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></p>
<h2 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.43em; max-width: 100%;">Which cities have the shortest fasting hours?</h2>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">– Singapore: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Nairobi, Kenya: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Luanda, Angola: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Jakarta, Indonesia: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Brasilia, Brazil: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Harare, Zimbabwe: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Johannesburg, South Africa: 13 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Buenos Aires, Argentina: 12 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Ciudad del Este, Paraguay: 12 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Cape Town, South Africa: 12 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Montevideo, Uruguay: 12 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Canberra, Australia: 12 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Puerto Montt, Chile: 12 hours<br style="max-width: 100%;">
– Christchurch, New Zealand: 12 hours</p>
<h2 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.43em; max-width: 100%;">Ramadan greetings in different languages</h2>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">Various Muslim-majority nations have a personalised <a href="/news/2023/3/22/listen-to-ramadan-greetings-in-different-languages" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">greeting</a> in their native languages.</p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">“Ramadan Mubarak” and “Ramadan Kareem” are common greetings exchanged in this period, wishing the recipient a blessed and generous month, respectively.</p>
<div data-reader-tweet-id="1638781883382210560" class="tweet-wrapper" style="max-width: 100%;"><blockquote data-width="550" data-dnt="true" style="font-size: 1.42em; line-height: 1.38em; font-weight: 300; font-style: italic; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-inline-start: 1em; max-width: calc(100% - 1em); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65);" class="pullquote simple-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr" style="max-width: 100%;">Listen to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ramadan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">#Ramadan</a> greetings in different languages.<a href="https://t.co/6o4o6jrope" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">https://t.co/6o4o6jrope</a></p>
<p style="max-width: 100%;">— AJ Labs (@ajlabs) <a href="https://twitter.com/ajlabs/status/1638781883382210560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;">March 23, 2023</a></p></blockquote><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; display: none;"></div></div>
<p style="max-width: 100%;"><a href="/news/2023/3/22/listen-to-ramadan-greetings-in-different-languages" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(65, 110, 210); max-width: 100%; text-decoration: underline;"><img loading="lazy" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/INTERACTIVE-Ramadan-greetings.png?w=770&resize=770%2C514&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE Ramadan greetings in different languages" data-recalc-dims="1" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; height: auto;" data-unique-identifier=""></a></p>
</div></div></div><br><br><div dir="ltr">Reverend Dr. Carolyn Peters, National Federation Of The Blind, Ohio, affiliate, vice president, 937-657-5134,<div>Dr.Carolyn.peters@gmail.com</div><div>NFB pledge: I pledge to participate, actively in the efforts of The National Federation Of The Blind, to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind to support the policies and programs of the Federation, and to abide by its constitution.</div><div>NFB, one minute speech: The National Federation Of The Blind knows that blindness is not a characteristic that defines you or your future. every day we raise. The expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people in our dreams. you can have the life you want, blindness is not what holds you back.☺️😍😊</div></div></body></html>