During the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world observe fasting, but the length of fasting can vary significantly depending on each country’s geographic location. The variation in daylight hours across different regions results in longer fasting hours in some countries and shorter in others.
Here’s an overview of how Muslims across the globe observe fasting with different time challenges.
Factors That Affect Fasting Duration by Country
Several geographical and astronomical factors influence the length of fasting in each region. These include:
Earth’s Axial Tilt
The Earth is tilted at an angle of approximately 23.5 degrees, which causes variations in daylight duration. Countries at high latitudes—closer to the North and South Poles—experience more extreme changes in day and night length.
Geographic Location (Latitude)
Countries near the equator, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, have consistent day and night durations year-round, resulting in fairly stable fasting hours of around 12–13 hours.
In contrast, countries in the far north or south, like Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, experience extended daylight in summer, sometimes over 20 hours, making fasting very long. In winter, days are shorter, resulting in shorter fasting durations.
Solar Position and Seasonal Shifts
Ramadan follows the Hijri (Islamic) lunar calendar, which moves approximately 10–11 days earlier each year on the Gregorian calendar. This means Ramadan can fall in summer or winter depending on the year, further influencing fasting length.
Midnight Sun and Polar Night
In extreme northern regions such as Northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland, the Midnight Sun phenomenon occurs during summer when the sun never sets. Conversely, during winter, the Polar Night brings days where the sun never rises.
In these cases, Muslims often follow the fasting schedule of the nearest city with a normal day-night cycle or follow the timing of Mecca.
Countries with the Longest Fasting Duration
Since Ramadan 2025 falls in the spring, countries in higher latitudes will experience longer days compared to those near the equator.
Greenland
In Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, fasting lasts around 16 hours and 31 minutes. In northern parts of Greenland, it can be even longer due to extremely late sunsets. Muslims in these areas may follow the schedule of Mecca or a nearby city with more regular daylight cycles.
Iceland
In Reykjavik, Muslims fast for approximately 16 hours and 29 minutes. Due to the Midnight Sun phenomenon, daylight lasts much longer than nighttime. Some Muslims here rely on fatwas that allow them to follow schedules from other countries with more moderate fasting hours.
Finland
In Helsinki, fasting lasts about 15 hours and 36 minutes. In more northern regions such as Lapland, fasting can be even longer. Muslims in these areas are also permitted to follow more moderate time zones when conditions become too extreme.
Norway
In cities like Tromsø in Northern Norway, fasting extends to 15 hours and 40 minutes. Located within the Arctic Circle, daylight hours are extremely long near summer. Muslims here often refer to Mecca’s fasting schedule or that of a nearby city.
Scotland
In Glasgow, the fasting duration is around 15 hours and 5 minutes. While not as extreme as countries above the Arctic Circle, late sunsets still make fasting more challenging. However, nights are long enough to allow rest before the next fasting day begins.
Countries with the Shortest Fasting Duration
On the other end of the spectrum, countries near the equator or in the Southern Hemisphere often have much shorter fasting times.
Brazil
In cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, fasting lasts around 13 hours and 10 minutes. Ramadan 2025 falls during autumn moving into winter in the Southern Hemisphere, meaning shorter daylight hours and earlier sunset times.
Thailand
With its equatorial proximity, Thailand enjoys a relatively stable fasting time throughout the year. During Ramadan 2025, Muslims in cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai fast for approximately 13 hours and 25 minutes, similar to neighboring countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.
Angola
Located in Southern Africa, Angola has one of the shortest fasting durations in Ramadan 2025. In Luanda, fasting is about 13 hours and 11 minutes, thanks to shorter days during the autumn season.
Indonesia
Fasting in Indonesia typically lasts around 13 hours and 13 minutes, with slight regional variations. Cities in the western regions such as Jakarta and Medan have slightly shorter fasting times compared to eastern cities like Makassar and Jayapura.
South Africa
In Cape Town and Johannesburg, Muslims fast for only 13 hours and 9 minutes, making South Africa one of the countries with the shortest fasting times in 2025. The season’s shorter daylight hours contribute to this.
One-Hour Fast Phenomenon in Russia
A recent viral topic on social media highlighted an unusual case in Murmansk, Russia, where fasting lasted for only one hour. However, this event did not occur during Ramadan but in December 2024, when Murmansk experienced the Polar Night.
Due to its location within the Arctic Circle, the sun rises and sets within a very short period during winter. At that time, the sun rose around 11:00 AM and set again by 12:00 PM, meaning the time between imsak (pre-dawn) and iftar (sunset) lasted just about one hour.
An Indonesian citizen named Satria, who was in Murmansk at the time, shared his experience on social media, explaining how he observed a one-hour voluntary fast due to the brief sunlight window.
In such extreme cases, scholars have issued fatwas recommending Muslims to follow the fasting schedule of cities with normal day-night cycles, such as Mecca or Istanbul, to maintain balance in observing the fast.
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