Current time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
The current local time in Riyadh is shown below. Riyadh observes AST.
What's the daylight saving status?
Riyadh does not observe daylight saving time. The local offset is fixed year-round.
When are sunrise & sunset today?
What are the timezone facts?
- Timezone
- Asia/Riyadh
- Standard abbreviation
- AST
- Observes daylight saving
- No
- Country
- 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
- Business hours
- 09:00 – 17:00 local
What's the timezone history of Riyadh?
Riyadh shares Arabian Standard Time at UTC+3 with the rest of Saudi Arabia, the unified national offset that produces no internal time variation across the kingdom. The city sits at around 46.7 degrees east, very close to the AST meridian, so solar noon arrives close to clock noon during standard time. The offset places Riyadh between Tehran (UTC+3:30) to the east and Cairo (UTC+2) to the west.
What are the working hours in Riyadh?
Riyadh's working week runs Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday as the weekend. Government and major corporate offices typically open at 08:00 and close around 16:00 or 17:00, with extended breaks for the noon dhuhr prayer. The Saudi Vision 2030 economic diversification programme has produced rapid expansion of finance, technology, and entertainment sectors in the capital. The annual Riyadh Season festival in autumn and winter draws international attendance for cultural and sporting events.
Where is Riyadh?
Riyadh sits in the central plateau of the Najd region in interior Saudi Arabia, at an elevation of around 612 metres. The capital and largest Saudi city, Riyadh's metropolitan area holds around 7.7 million residents and has grown extremely rapidly since the mid-20th century from a small oasis town to a sprawling modern capital. The geography is arid desert, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding 45°C and minimal annual rainfall.