CAT — Central Africa Time

How to Convert CAT to Other Time Zones

1. Open the CAT converter page: Go to https://www.xconvert.com/time-converter/cat-time-zone to load a visual comparison grid with Central Africa Time (CAT) already shown on a 24-hour timeline. This is useful when you are planning a call with teams in Lilongwe, Bujumbura, Lusaka, Harare, or Windhoek, or checking whether a CAT business day overlaps with partners in Europe, the Gulf, or North America.

2. Add comparison cities with the + Add City button: Click “+ Add City” and search for cities such as Nairobi for East African logistics and NGO coordination, London for banking and donor relations, or Dubai for trade and aviation links. You can also add Johannesburg, which shares the same UTC+2 offset for much of the year, making it useful for mining, telecom, and regional operations across southern Africa.

3. Drag on the grid to select a working window: Click “Select” if needed, then drag across the CAT row from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM CAT to highlight that range in purple; you can resize it with the side handles or move it by dragging the center. For example, 9:00 AM CAT is 10:00 AM EAT in Nairobi, because EAT is UTC+3 and CAT is UTC+2, while 9:00 AM CAT is 7:00 AM in London during standard time and 8:00 AM in London during British Summer Time, which helps confirm whether a morning call in Malawi or Burundi will reach Europe during office hours.

4. Export and share the selected time: Once a range is selected, use the export options for ICS download, Google Calendar, Gmail, Copy to clipboard, or Share link. This is practical for sending a cross-border meeting to a distributed team in Botswana, Rwanda, and the UK, because the calendar event will appear in each participant’s local time automatically and reduce errors around regional offsets.

About Central Africa Time (CAT)

Central Africa Time (CAT) is the standard time zone used across a large part of central and southern Africa, and its exact offset is UTC+02:00. That means CAT is 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time, so when it is 12:00 noon UTC, it is 2:00 PM CAT in cities such as Lilongwe, Blantyre, Bujumbura, Gitega, Lusaka, Harare, and much of Windhoek’s business scheduling.

CAT is used in Botswana, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (eastern regions), Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Important population centers and administrative hubs in this time zone include Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi with a metro population around 1.1 million, Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial center with roughly 800,000+ people, and Bujumbura, Burundi’s largest city with a population commonly estimated above 1 million in the urban area.

CAT is closely related to East Africa Time (EAT), which is the counterpart listed for this page. The key difference is that EAT is UTC+03:00, so EAT is exactly 1 hour ahead of CAT; when it is 9:00 AM in Lilongwe or Bujumbura on CAT, it is 10:00 AM in Nairobi, Addis Ababa, or Mogadishu on EAT. This one-hour gap matters for airline schedules, NGO field coordination, and regional trade calls between central African capitals and east African ports.

Several other abbreviations can also appear with the same UTC+2 offset in some contexts, including CEST, EET, IST, SAST, WAST, and the military zone letter B, but they are not interchangeable in every season or region. For example, SAST in South Africa is also UTC+2 year-round, while CEST is only UTC+2 during European summer daylight saving time, so a CAT-to-Europe comparison changes seasonally even though the numerical offset may match for part of the year.

CAT and Daylight Saving Time

CAT does not observe daylight saving time, so it does not switch to another seasonal clock setting during the year. Its offset remains UTC+02:00 in January, April, July, and October, which makes it easier for businesses in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Burundi to maintain stable local schedules without spring or autumn clock changes.

For the current year, 2026, there are no DST transition dates for CAT. There is no spring-forward date, no fall-back date, and no alternate daylight abbreviation such as “CAT Summer Time,” because the time zone stays on the same standard offset all year.

The practical effect is that CAT’s relationship to other regions changes only when those other regions switch clocks. For example, CAT and Central European Summer Time (CEST) both run at UTC+2 during the European summer, so 12:00 PM CAT equals 12:00 PM in Berlin or Paris while CEST is active; but when Europe returns to CET (UTC+1), 12:00 PM CAT becomes 11:00 AM in Berlin or Paris. Likewise, CAT stays 1 hour behind EAT all year, because EAT also does not typically use daylight saving time.

This stability is especially useful for remote teams, humanitarian operations, mining companies, agricultural exporters, and transport planners working across southern and eastern Africa. If a logistics team in Mozambique schedules a recurring 3:00 PM CAT operations call, colleagues in Kenya on EAT will always join at 4:00 PM, while colleagues in London will join at either 1:00 PM or 2:00 PM depending on whether the UK is on GMT or BST.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does CAT stand for?

CAT stands for Central Africa Time. It is the time standard used in multiple countries across central and southern Africa, and its exact offset is UTC+02:00, meaning local time is always two hours ahead of UTC.

Is CAT the same as EAT?

No, CAT is not the same as EAT. CAT is UTC+2 and EAT is UTC+3, so EAT is 1 hour ahead of CAT; if it is 8:00 AM in Blantyre or Bujumbura on CAT, it is 9:00 AM in Nairobi or Addis Ababa on EAT. This difference is important when scheduling regional meetings, connecting flights, or coordinating NGO and government work across east and central Africa.

Which cities use CAT?

Cities using CAT include Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu, Zomba, and Kasungu in Malawi, along with Bujumbura, Muyinga, Gitega, Ruyigi, and Ngozi in Burundi. Other major CAT cities across the region include Lusaka, Harare, Gaborone, Maputo, and parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, making CAT relevant for trade, public administration, aviation, and regional development work.

What is the UTC offset for CAT?

The UTC offset for CAT is UTC+02:00. In practical terms, when the reference time is 6:00 AM UTC, it is 8:00 AM CAT, and when it is 6:00 PM UTC, it is 8:00 PM CAT. This fixed offset makes CAT straightforward to compare with nearby zones such as EAT (UTC+3) and SAST (UTC+2).

When does CAT change?

CAT does not change during the year because it does not observe daylight saving time. In 2026, there are no clock-change dates for CAT, so the time remains UTC+2 from January 1 through December 31. Any seasonal difference you notice when comparing CAT with Europe or North America comes from those regions changing their clocks, not from CAT itself.

Is CAT the same as South Africa time?

CAT has the same UTC+2 offset as South Africa Standard Time (SAST), so the clock time matches South Africa throughout the year. However, the abbreviations refer to different regional naming conventions, and on time conversion pages it is still best to choose the actual city, such as Johannesburg or Lilongwe, to avoid confusion in multinational scheduling.

Which countries use Central Africa Time?

Countries using CAT include Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (eastern parts), Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Because these countries span several economic corridors, CAT appears often in cross-border trucking, copper and mining operations, agricultural exports, humanitarian coordination, and regional airline timetables.

How far ahead is CAT from UTC and London?

CAT is 2 hours ahead of UTC at all times. Compared with London, CAT is usually 2 hours ahead during UK winter when London is on GMT (UTC+0), but only 1 hour ahead during UK summer when London is on BST (UTC+1); for example, 9:00 AM CAT equals 7:00 AM London in winter and 8:00 AM London in summer.