The Pacific island nation of Kiribati has become the first place in the world to officially enter 2026, as the new year arrived there hours before the rest of the globe.
Midnight struck first on Kiritimati atoll, also known as Christmas Island, at 10:00 GMT on Tuesday. The atoll is part of Kiribati’s eastern islands and sits on the world’s earliest time zone.
Kiribati, pronounced Kiribass, is a remote Pacific nation made up of several low-lying coral atolls stretching nearly 4,000 kilometres across the ocean. It gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1979 and has a population of about 116,000.
Despite its location close to Hawaii, the country celebrates the New Year much earlier due to its position near the International Date Line.
The island is home to small communities and is known for its quiet surroundings, rich marine life and vulnerability to rising sea levels caused by climate change. Kiribati gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1979 and has a population of about 116,000.
Some residents and visitors marked the moment quietly on the beaches, while others gathered for small community celebrations to watch the first sunrise of the new year.
Other parts of Kiribati followed shortly after, with New Zealand’s Chatham Islands next to enter 2026. Over the next 26 hours, the rest of the world will gradually welcome the new year, ending with Baker Island, the last place on Earth to do so.
