SAST — South Africa Standard Time
SAST is South Africa Standard Time, +02:00, used in Africa. In code, use Africa/Johannesburg rather than the abbreviation.
South Africa Standard Time · Africa
02:26:00
Thursday, 13 August 2026
- abbreviation denotes
- +02:00
- in force right now
- SAST (UTC+02:00)
- use in code
- Africa/Johannesburg
- next clock change
- none — fixed offset
Use the IANA name, not the abbreviation
Python
from datetime import datetime
from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
# right: an IANA zone carries the full history of rule changes
now = datetime.now(ZoneInfo("Africa/Johannesburg"))
print(now.isoformat(), now.tzname())
# wrong: an abbreviation is not resolvable, and a hard-coded offset
# silently rots the next time the rules change
# now = datetime.now(timezone(timedelta(hours=...))) # don'tSAST questions
What does SAST stand for?
SAST is South Africa Standard Time, +02:00, used in Africa. The IANA zone to use in code is Africa/Johannesburg.
What time is it in SAST right now?
South Africa Standard Time: 02:26 on Thursday (SAST).
Which IANA timezone should I use instead of SAST?
Africa/Johannesburg for South Africa Standard Time. Date libraries cannot resolve bare abbreviations, and an abbreviation carries no daylight-saving history, so a stored offset silently rots when a government changes the rules.