The first country to welcome 2025: Kiribati
Kiritimati Island in Kiribati, Micronesia, became the first place to enter 2025 due to its geographical location. Also known as Christmas Island, this atoll welcomed the new year at 13:00 Turkish time.
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The first country in the world to step into 2025 was Kiribati in Micronesia. Kiritimati Island, which is part of Kiribati, stood out as the first region to welcome the new year thanks to the advantage of its geographical location. Kiritimati, also known as Christmas Island and located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, entered 2025 at 13:00 TSI.
Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, holds the title of the world's largest coral atoll in terms of surface area. This 388.39 km² atoll hosted nuclear tests conducted by the United Kingdom in the late 1950s and by the USA in 1962.
WHICH COUNTRIES WILL ENTER THE NEW YEAR LAST?
The countries that will welcome the new year last are Baker and Howland Islands, which are located in the UTC-12 time zone. While various regions of the world enter the new year sequentially according to their time zones, Kiribati is followed by countries such as Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, Fiji, and Australia.