South Africa Standard (SAST)
Johannesburg operates on South Africa Standard (SAST). This time zone does not observe Daylight Saving Time.
Time Zone: South Africa Standard Time (SAST) — Standard Offset: UTC+2 (SAST) — DST: Not observed
Country: South Africa
This city does not observe Daylight Saving Time. The UTC offset remains constant year-round, which simplifies international scheduling.
Johannesburg operates on SAST (UTC+2), the same offset as Cairo. South Africa does not observe DST. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is the largest in Africa and among the top 20 globally, trading from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM SAST. As the economic hub of sub-Saharan Africa, Johannesburg's time zone is the reference point for business across the continent's southern half.
South Africa is a major producer of gold, platinum, and diamonds, and Johannesburg historically grew around the gold mining industry. Commodity trading in precious metals references SAST for South African production schedules. The city's mining houses coordinate with London Metal Exchange hours (which open at 1:00 AM SAST) and commodity markets in Chicago and New York.
SAST's UTC+2 offset creates excellent overlap with European business hours — just 1-2 hours ahead of most of Western Europe. A 9 AM SAST meeting is 8 AM in Paris and 7 AM in London. This alignment has made Johannesburg a natural hub for European companies expanding into Africa. The full overlap of European and South African business hours is a significant competitive advantage over other African cities in less compatible time zones.
For US coordination, Johannesburg is 7 hours ahead of New York (6 during EDT). The best overlap is morning SAST / previous evening ET, or afternoon SAST / morning ET. A 3 PM SAST meeting catches New York at 8 AM ET. For Asian partners, Johannesburg is 6 hours behind Singapore and 7 behind Tokyo — early morning Asian calls reach late-afternoon Johannesburg.