Time difference between Madrid and Johannesburg

The gap is not the same all year

Every converter gives one number for this pair. That number is right for most of the year and wrong for part of it, because Madrid goes forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October and Johannesburg does not change its clocks.

Johannesburg stays put all year while Madrid moves, so a meeting fixed in Johannesburg's calendar shifts by an hour twice a year at Madrid's end.

About Madrid and Johannesburg

Spain is on Central European Time and sits west of Britain — Madrid is at the same longitude as Cardiff and keeps clocks an hour ahead of it. Franco moved the country onto German time in 1940 and it stayed, which is the reason Spanish dinner is at ten.

South Africa is UTC+2 and has not changed its clocks since two wartime years in the 1940s. The whole country keeps one zone, and the gap to the UK is two hours in winter and one in summer.

What no difference actually costs you

This is an easy pair. 8 hours of the working day are shared, which is enough for a standing meeting at a time neither side has to think about. 9:00 AM–5:00 PM in Madrid lands inside office hours at both ends.

When they can both be at their desks

Nine-to-five in both cities overlaps for 8 hours — 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM in Madrid, the same moment as 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM in Johannesburg.

Madrid

Johannesburg

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How far apart Madrid and Johannesburg are

The shortest path over the Earth's surface between the two is 8,103 km (5,035 miles). Flown along that line, an airliner at cruising speed takes roughly 10 hours 15 minutes in the air — actual routings add to it, and whether a nonstop service exists depends on the airlines rather than the distance.

The two keep the same clock for most of the year, so there is no jet lag to speak of whatever the distance.

Madrid to Johannesburg, hour by hour

On the usual gap of no difference.

Frequently asked questions