Date Format by Country 2025

Country	Date Format: Year, Month, Day (YMD)↓	Date Format: Day, Month, Year (DMY)	Date Format: Month, Day, Year (MDY)
India	Yes	Yes	Sometimes
China	Yes	No	No
United States	Yes	Rarely	Yes
Russia	Yes	Yes	No
Japan	Yes	No	No
Vietnam	Yes	Yes	Sometimes
Iran	Yes	Yes	No
Germany	Yes	Yes	No
United Kingdom	Yes	Yes	No
France	Yes	Yes	No
South Africa	Yes	Yes	Sometimes
Kenya	Yes	Yes	Yes
Myanmar	Yes	Yes	No
South Korea	Yes	No	No
Spain	Yes	Yes	No
Afghanistan	Yes	Yes	No
Canada	Yes	Yes	Yes
Poland	Yes	Yes	No
Uzbekistan	Yes	Yes	No
Ghana	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cameroon	Yes	Yes	No
Nepal	Yes	Yes	Sometimes
Australia	Yes	Yes	No
North Korea	Yes	No	No
Sri Lanka	Yes	Yes	Rarely
Taiwan	Yes	No	No
Zimbabwe	Yes	No	No
Guinea	Yes	Yes	Sometimes
Rwanda	Yes	Yes	No
Cuba	Yes	Yes	No
Sweden	Yes	Yes	No
Czech Republic	Yes	Yes	No
Portugal	Yes	Yes	No
Hungary	Yes	No	No
Austria	Yes	Yes	No
Hong Kong	Yes	Yes	Rarely
Denmark	Yes	Yes	No
Singapore	Yes	Yes	Sometimes
Norway	Yes	Yes	Rarely
Eritrea	Yes	Yes	Sometimes
Mongolia	Yes	No	No
Namibia	Yes	Yes	No
Jamaica	Yes	Yes	No
Lithuania	Yes	No	No
Albania	Yes	Yes	No
Botswana	Yes	Yes	No
Lesotho	Yes	Yes	No
Eswatini	Yes	Yes	No
Djibouti	Yes	Yes	No
Bhutan	Yes	No	No
Macau	Yes	Yes	No
Maldives	Yes	Yes	No
Argentina	Sometimes	Yes	No
Kazakhstan	Sometimes	Yes	No
Estonia	Sometimes	Yes	No
Indonesia	No	Yes	Rarely
Pakistan	No	Yes	No
Nigeria	No	Yes	Sometimes
Brazil	No	Yes	No
Bangladesh	No	Yes	No
Ethiopia	No	Yes	Sometimes
Mexico	No	Yes	No
Egypt	No	Yes	No
Philippines	No	Yes	Yes
DR Congo	No	Yes	No
Turkey	No	Yes	No
Thailand	No	Yes	No
Tanzania	No	Yes	No
Italy	No	Yes	No
Colombia	No	Yes	No
Sudan	No	Yes	No
Uganda	No	Yes	No
Algeria	No	Yes	No
Iraq	No	Yes	No
Yemen	No	Yes	No
Angola	No	Yes	No
Ukraine	No	Yes	No
Morocco	No	Yes	No
Malaysia	No	Yes	No
Mozambique	No	Yes	No
Peru	No	Yes	No
Saudi Arabia	No	Yes	No
Madagascar	No	Yes	No
Ivory Coast	No	Yes	No
Venezuela	No	Yes	No
Niger	No	Yes	No
Syria	No	Yes	No
Mali	No	Yes	No
Burkina Faso	No	Yes	No
Malawi	No	Yes	No
Zambia	No	Yes	No
Chad	No	Yes	No
Chile	No	Yes	No
Somalia	No	Yes	No
Senegal	No	Yes	No
Romania	No	Yes	No
Guatemala	No	Yes	No
Netherlands	No	Yes	No
Ecuador	No	Yes	No
Cambodia	No	Yes	No
Benin	No	Yes	No
Burundi	No	Yes	No
Bolivia	No	Yes	No
Tunisia	No	Yes	No
South Sudan	No	Yes	No
Haiti	No	Yes	No
Belgium	No	Yes	No
Jordan	No	Yes	No
Dominican Republic	No	Yes	No
United Arab Emirates	No	Yes	No
Honduras	No	Yes	No
Tajikistan	No	Yes	No
Papua New Guinea	No	Yes	No
Azerbaijan	No	Yes	No
Greece	No	Yes	No
Togo	No	Yes	Yes
Israel	No	Yes	No
Belarus	No	Yes	No
Switzerland	No	Yes	No
Sierra Leone	No	Yes	No
Laos	No	Yes	No
Turkmenistan	No	Yes	No
Libya	No	Yes	No
Kyrgyzstan	No	Yes	No
Paraguay	No	Yes	No
Nicaragua	No	Yes	No
Bulgaria	No	Yes	No
Serbia	No	Yes	No
Republic of the Congo	No	Yes	No
El Salvador	No	Yes	No
Lebanon	No	Yes	No
Liberia	No	Yes	No
Finland	No	Yes	Sometimes
Palestine	No	Yes	No
Central African Republic	No	Yes	No
Oman	No	Yes	No
Slovakia	No	Yes	No
Mauritania	No	Yes	No
Ireland	No	Yes	No
New Zealand	No	Yes	No
Costa Rica	No	Yes	No
Kuwait	No	Yes	No
Panama	No	Yes	Yes
Croatia	No	Yes	No
Georgia	No	Yes	No
Uruguay	No	Yes	No
Puerto Rico	No	Yes	Yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina	No	Yes	No
Qatar	No	Yes	No
Moldova	No	Yes	No
Armenia	No	Yes	No
Gambia	No	Yes	No
Gabon	No	Yes	No
Guinea-Bissau	No	Yes	No
Slovenia	No	Yes	No
Equatorial Guinea	No	Yes	No
Latvia	No	Yes	No
North Macedonia	No	Yes	No
Bahrain	No	Yes	No
Trinidad and Tobago	No	Yes	No
Timor-Leste	No	Yes	No
Cyprus	No	Yes	No
Mauritius	No	Yes	No
Fiji	No	Yes	No
Comoros	No	Yes	No
Reunion	No	Yes	No
Solomon Islands	No	Yes	No
Guyana	No	Yes	No
Luxembourg	No	Yes	No
Suriname	No	Yes	No
Montenegro	No	Yes	No
Malta	No	Yes	No
Cape Verde	No	Yes	No
Brunei	No	Yes	No
Belize	No	Yes	No
Bahamas	No	Yes	No
Iceland	No	Yes	No
Guadeloupe	No	Yes	No
Martinique	No	Yes	No
Mayotte	No	Yes	No
Vanuatu	No	Yes	No
French Guiana	No	Yes	No
New Caledonia	No	Yes	No
Barbados	No	Yes	No
French Polynesia	No	Yes	No
Sao Tome and Principe	No	Yes	No
Samoa	No	Yes	No
Curacao	No	Yes	No
Saint Lucia	No	Yes	No
Guam	No	No	Yes
Kiribati	No	Yes	No
Seychelles	No	Yes	No
Grenada	No	Yes	No
Micronesia	No	No	Yes
Aruba	No	Yes	No
Jersey	No	Yes	No
Tonga	No	Yes	No
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	No	Yes	No
Antigua and Barbuda	No	Yes	No
United States Virgin Islands	No	No	Yes
Isle of Man	No	Yes	No
Andorra	No	Yes	No
Cayman Islands	No	Yes	Yes
Dominica	No	Yes	No
Bermuda	No	Yes	No
Guernsey	No	Yes	No
Faroe Islands	No	Yes	No
Greenland	No	Yes	Yes
Saint Kitts and Nevis	No	Yes	No
Turks and Caicos Islands	No	Yes	No
American Samoa	No	No	Yes
Sint Maarten	No	Yes	No
Northern Mariana Islands	No	No	Yes
Liechtenstein	No	Yes	No
Gibraltar	No	Yes	No
British Virgin Islands	No	Yes	No
Monaco	No	Yes	No
Marshall Islands	No	No	Yes
San Marino	No	Yes	No
Saint Martin	No	Yes	No
Palau	No	Yes	Rarely
Anguilla	No	Yes	No
Cook Islands	No	Yes	No
Nauru	No	Yes	No
Saint Barthelemy	No	Yes	No
Wallis and Futuna	No	Yes	No
Tuvalu	No	Yes	No
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	No	Yes	No
Montserrat	No	Yes	No
Falkland Islands	No	Yes	No
Tokelau	No	Yes	No
Niue	No	Yes	No
Vatican City	No	No	Yes

Country

Date Format: Year, Month, Day (YMD)↓

Date Format: Day, Month, Year (DMY)

Date Format: Month, Day, Year (MDY)

India

Yes

Sometimes

China

Yes

United States

Yes

Rarely

Yes

Russia

Yes

Japan

Yes

Vietnam

Yes

Sometimes

Iran

Yes

Germany

Yes

United Kingdom

Yes

France

Yes

South Africa

Yes

Sometimes

Kenya

Yes

Myanmar

Yes

South Korea

Yes

Spain

Yes

Afghanistan

Yes

Canada

Yes

Poland

Yes

Uzbekistan

Yes

Ghana

Yes

Cameroon

Yes

Nepal

Yes

Sometimes

Australia

Yes

North Korea

Yes

Sri Lanka

Yes

Rarely

Taiwan

Yes

Zimbabwe

Yes

Guinea

Yes

Sometimes

Rwanda

Yes

Cuba

Yes

Sweden

Yes

Czech Republic

Yes

Portugal

Yes

Hungary

Yes

Austria

Yes

Hong Kong

Yes

Rarely

Denmark

Yes

Singapore

Yes

Sometimes

Norway

Yes

Rarely

Eritrea

Yes

Sometimes

Mongolia

Yes

Namibia

Yes

Jamaica

Yes

Lithuania

Yes

Albania

Yes

Botswana

Yes

Lesotho

Yes

Eswatini

Yes

Djibouti

Yes

Bhutan

Yes

Macau

Yes

Maldives

Yes

Argentina

Sometimes

Yes

Kazakhstan

Sometimes

Yes

Estonia

Sometimes

Yes

Indonesia

Yes

Rarely

Pakistan

Yes

Nigeria

Yes

Sometimes

Brazil

Yes

Bangladesh

Yes

Ethiopia

Yes

Sometimes

Mexico

Yes

Egypt

Yes

Philippines

Yes

DR Congo

Yes

Turkey

Yes

Thailand

Yes

Tanzania

Yes

Italy

Yes

Colombia

Yes

Sudan

Yes

Uganda

Yes

Algeria

Yes

Iraq

Yes

Yemen

Yes

Angola

Yes

Ukraine

Yes

Morocco

Yes

Malaysia

Yes

Mozambique

Yes

Peru

Yes

Saudi Arabia

Yes

Madagascar

Yes

Ivory Coast

Yes

Venezuela

Yes

Niger

Yes

Syria

Yes

Mali

Yes

Burkina Faso

Yes

Malawi

Yes

Zambia

Yes

Chad

Yes

Chile

Yes

Somalia

Yes

Senegal

Yes

Romania

Yes

Guatemala

Yes

Netherlands

Yes

Ecuador

Yes

Cambodia

Yes

Benin

Yes

Burundi

Yes

Bolivia

Yes

Tunisia

Yes

South Sudan

Yes

Haiti

Yes

Belgium

Yes

Jordan

Yes

Dominican Republic

Yes

United Arab Emirates

Yes

Honduras

Yes

Tajikistan

Yes

Papua New Guinea

Yes

Azerbaijan

Yes

Greece

Yes

Togo

Yes

Israel

Yes

Belarus

Yes

Switzerland

Yes

Sierra Leone

Yes

Laos

Yes

Turkmenistan

Yes

Libya

Yes

Kyrgyzstan

Yes

Paraguay

Yes

Nicaragua

Yes

Bulgaria

Yes

Serbia

Yes

Republic of the Congo

Yes

El Salvador

Yes

Lebanon

Yes

Liberia

Yes

Finland

Yes

Sometimes

Palestine

Yes

Central African Republic

Yes

Oman

Yes

Slovakia

Yes

Mauritania

Yes

Ireland

Yes

New Zealand

Yes

Costa Rica

Yes

Kuwait

Yes

Panama

Yes

Croatia

Yes

Georgia

Yes

Uruguay

Yes

Puerto Rico

Yes

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Yes

Qatar

Yes

Moldova

Yes

Armenia

Yes

Gambia

Yes

Gabon

Yes

Guinea-Bissau

Yes

Slovenia

Yes

Equatorial Guinea

Yes

Latvia

Yes

North Macedonia

Yes

Bahrain

Yes

Trinidad and Tobago

Yes

Timor-Leste

Yes

Cyprus

Yes

Mauritius

Yes

Fiji

Yes

Comoros

Yes

Reunion

Yes

Solomon Islands

Yes

Guyana

Yes

Luxembourg

Yes

Suriname

Yes

Montenegro

Yes

Malta

Yes

Cape Verde

Yes

Brunei

Yes

Belize

Yes

Bahamas

Yes

Iceland

Yes

Guadeloupe

Yes

Martinique

Yes

Mayotte

Yes

Vanuatu

Yes

French Guiana

Yes

New Caledonia

Yes

Barbados

Yes

French Polynesia

Yes

Sao Tome and Principe

Yes

Samoa

Yes

Curacao

Yes

Saint Lucia

Yes

Guam

Yes

Kiribati

Yes

Seychelles

Yes

Grenada

Yes

Micronesia

Yes

Aruba

Yes

Jersey

Yes

Tonga

Yes

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Yes

Antigua and Barbuda

Yes

United States Virgin Islands

Yes

Isle of Man

Yes

Andorra

Yes

Cayman Islands

Yes

Dominica

Yes

Bermuda

Yes

Guernsey

Yes

Faroe Islands

Yes

Greenland

Yes

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Yes

Turks and Caicos Islands

Yes

American Samoa

Yes

Sint Maarten

Yes

Northern Mariana Islands

Yes

Liechtenstein

Yes

Gibraltar

Yes

British Virgin Islands

Yes

Monaco

Yes

Marshall Islands

Yes

San Marino

Yes

Saint Martin

Yes

Palau

Yes

Rarely

Anguilla

Yes

Cook Islands

Yes

Nauru

Yes

Saint Barthelemy

Yes

Wallis and Futuna

Yes

Tuvalu

Yes

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Yes

Montserrat

Yes

Falkland Islands

Yes

Tokelau

Yes

Niue

Yes

Vatican City

Yes

It is important for people to know what day it is, particularly when they travel overseas. That way, they do not get lost, end up in the wrong place, or miss a train or a plane. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for people to tell what date it is depending on the format that is used. There are several different date formats that countries use across the world, and people need to know what format is being used. Some people use a format that goes: day, then month, then year. There are other countries that use the format: year, then month, then day. There are even countries that use the format: month, then day, then year. Which countries use which format?

The United States Tend To Be an Outlier

Even though the United States is one of the largest countries on Earth, its date format is somewhat unusual compared to many other nations. In the United States, the date format follows the month-day-year sequence, meaning 1/10/2022 is read as January 10th, 2022. This format is consistent across all of the United States, and many of its island territories also adopt this convention. However, the U.S. is not the only country using this format; it is also used in countries like the Philippines and some in the Caribbean and Central America. When visiting U.S. territories or other regions using different date formats, it is important for visitors to seek clarification to ensure they understand the correct date, as variations can occur due to local influences and historical ties.

Most of the World Uses the Day, Month, Year Format

The vast majority of the world uses the format: day, then month, then year. Using the example above, 1/10/2022 would stand for the 1st of October, 2022. Clearly, this is very different than what it would mean in the United States. Just about every country in Europe uses this format. This includes the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, and numerous other countries. The vast majority of countries in South America also use this format. This includes Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela. Countries in Western Asia also follow this format. This includes Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and numerous other countries in the Middle East.

What Is the Most Common Date Format Used in Asia?

The other common date format that people will see is the year, then month, then day. For example, January 10th, 2022 would be written as 2022-01-10 in Asia. Most of the biggest countries in Asia use this date format. This includes China, Japan, and South Korea. In addition, this format will be seen in a few scattered countries in Central Asia, including Nepal, Sri Lanka, and a few others. This is the date format that is hardest to confuse because the year is written first; however, if the year is only represented by two numbers, it may be possible for people to get confused. The most important thing for people to remember when they are traveling is that they need to ask for clarification if something is unclear.