Which Countries Celebrate The New Year's Day Before India?

Countries in the South Pacific Ocean are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball drop in Times Square in New York.

The New Year's Day is celebrated at different times by different regions because of the Earth's rotation and the multiple time zones.  
Around 41 countries celebrate the new year before India. Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, some regions of Russia, Myanmar, Japan, and Indonesia are a few of these nations.

Countries in the South Pacific Ocean are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball drop in Times Square in New York.

Thousands of people gathered at the iconic Sky Tower in New Zealand's Auckland to witness the stunning fireworks lighting up the sky. People thronged to downtown with many climbing Auckland's volcanic peaks to get a vantage point of the fireworks in the city, which were held to recognise the indigenous tribes, the Associated Press reported.

The last nations to welcome in the New Year will be the islands of Baker and Howland. By the time these uninhabited islands see New Year, it will be already January 2 for the majority of the countries in the world.

The world is divided into 24 time zones, each based on a longitude. Each zone has its own standard time, which is why the New Year is celebrated at different times in different countries. India follows the Indian Standard Time (IST), which is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of Coordinated Universal Time.