Official Question UPSC 2025
Consider the following countries: I. United Kingdom II. Denmark III. New Zealand IV. Australia V. Brazil How many of the above countries have more than four time zones?
Solution & Analysis
Answer: B
According to data from the International Time Bureau and Oxford World Atlas, calculating a country's time zones requires factoring in all its sovereign overseas territories.
•I. United Kingdom: Possesses 9 time zones due to extensive overseas territories (e.g., Falkland Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory).
•II. Denmark: Possesses at least 5 time zones (mainland Denmark, plus Greenland which has multiple, and the Faroe Islands).
•III. New Zealand: Possesses 5 time zones (Mainland, Chatham Islands, Tokelau, Niue, and the Cook Islands).
•IV. Australia: Possesses 8 to 9 time zones factoring in mainland zones and external territories like Norfolk Island and Macquarie Island.
•V. Brazil: A massive contiguous landmass, but it operates on exactly 4 time zones (Fernando de Noronha, Brasília time, Amazon time, and Acre time).
Therefore, four out of the five listed countries have more than four time zones.