Current Time in Cairo
Egypt — Africa/Cairo
About Time in Cairo
Cairo operates on Eastern European Time (IANA: Africa/Cairo) at UTC+2 year-round. Egypt abolished daylight saving time in 2014 after years of inconsistent implementation. The country has not changed its clocks since, maintaining a permanent UTC+2 offset. Egypt briefly reintroduced DST in 2014 and 2016 but each time reversed the decision within months.
Cairo is 7 hours ahead of New York during EST and 6 hours ahead during EDT. It is 2 hours ahead of London during GMT and 1 hour ahead during BST. Cairo is 7 hours behind Tokyo and 6 hours behind Singapore. Egypt's fixed UTC+2 means its time difference with DST-observing countries changes even though Cairo's own clocks stay constant.
Cairo's UTC+2 timezone places it in alignment with much of Eastern Europe and parts of the Middle East. The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) operates from 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM EET, Sunday through Thursday, following the regional Islamic workweek pattern. Cairo's position on the Nile and its role as the largest city in the Arab world make its timezone a reference point for business across North Africa.
Time Facts
Egypt has switched DST policy multiple times — adopting it, abolishing it during Ramadan (when later sunset times made fasting harder), reintroducing it, and finally scrapping it altogether. The confusion led to Egypt being informally called the 'timezone that cried wolf.'
The Great Pyramids of Giza, on Cairo's outskirts, were aligned to true north with extraordinary precision — the ancient Egyptians used stellar observations and solar shadows as their timekeeping tools thousands of years before mechanical clocks existed.
Cairo's famous Khan el-Khalili bazaar has been operating since 1382 and traditionally opens around 10:00 AM EET — relatively late compared to other markets, reflecting the Egyptian preference for starting the day after morning prayer and breakfast.
Egypt's Suez Canal operates 24 hours a day on EET, with ship convoys departing from Port Said (northbound) and Suez (southbound) at predetermined times that are published months in advance using UTC+2.
Business Hours
Standard business hours in Cairo are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EET (07:00-15:00 UTC), Sunday through Thursday, with Friday and Saturday being the weekend.