Which countries are first, last to ring in New Year 2024?

Jubilant crowds on Sunday are set to bid farewell to the hottest year on record, after a chaotic year that included devastating conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as clever chatbots and climate problems.

With nearly eight billion people on the planet, the old will eventually give way to the new, with many looking to escape the burden of exorbitant living expenses and unrest around the world.

Despite the unusually rainy weather, over a million partygoers are anticipated to swarm Sydney's waterfront, which bills itself as the "New Year's capital of the world".

However, do you know the first and last countries to ring in the New Year?

Since the world is divided into 24 main time zones, this year’s New Year celebrations — which, according to Britannica, began on January 1, 153 BCE, in Rome — shall begin at different times in different countries.

First country to ring in New Year 2024

Every year, Kiribati, a country in Oceania, is the country that will celebrate the New Year first, according to National Geographic.

Kiribati's Kiritimati Island, also known as Christmas Island, is set to welcome  January 1, 2024, at 10am GMT or 3:00pm as per Pakistan Standard Timing (PST) on December 31.

Tonga and Samoa will ring in the New Year 2024 at 11am GMT, followed by New Zealand, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

According to World Atlas, Kiribati celebrates New Year's Day as a public holiday, with no school or work for the general population and most businesses closed.

The holiday season includes traditional singing and dancing, church services, family dinners, and gift exchanges with locals also engaging in sports, camping, and visiting nearby islands.

They count down to the New Year through low-key beach parties, favourite bars, and downtown squares.

Meanwhile, guesthouses and expat bars host the most varied events, often catering to tourists, while local bars and the maneaba (meeting house) have more traditional celebrations.

Last country to ring in New Year 2024

The final inhabited location to bid farewell to 2023 and welcome the New Year, every year, is the island nations of Niue and American Samoa, located southwest of Kiribati in the South Pacific, according to National Geographic.

Technically, the United States Minor Outlying Islands' Baker Island and Howland Island are the last to celebrate the new year at 12pm GMT on January 1st, or 5:00pm PST, if we include uninhabited territory.