More than a billion Muslims fast in the morning hours during the holy month of Ramazan.
Every year, the holy month begins around two weeks early. This year, it will pass from the longer, hotter summer days to the shorter, colder winter days for half of the planet.
Ramazan started on March 11 with fasting hours varying across different countries. The fasting hours range between 12 hours and more than 17 hours.
So which countries have the shortest and the longest Ramazan, especially in the Muslim world?
Shortest Ramazan fast in 2024:
Muslims in Chile will face the shortest Ramazan with almost 12 hours and 44 minutes of fasting.
New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa being in the Southern Hemisphere also look at a shorter fasting time between 12 to 13 hours.
Longest Ramazan fast:
In Europe, Muslims of Finland, Iceland and Greenland will face 17 longest fasting hours during the holy month.
How to observe Ramazan where it never gets dark:
Although no location is anticipating a midnight sun in Ramazan, Muslims in nations where the days are especially long during the holy month are unable to observe a fast of more than 20 hours.
As the daylight varies depending on the season, fasting in the countries further from the equator tends to be longer.
So what do they do?
Fatwas have been proclaimed in nations where the time difference between sunset and sunrise is less than three hours, enabling citizens to observe other cities' schedules. For instance, a lot of people would observe Makkah's fasting hours in Saudi Arabia.
This year the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and almost the whole Middle East will observe about 13.5 to 14 hours of fasting.
African country Tunisia will face the longest fasting hours of Ramazan at 14 hours and 29 minutes.
Ramazan fasting durations across the Arab world:
Tunisia: The longest day was 14 hours and 29 minutes, while the shortest was 13 hours and 17 minutes.
Algeria: 14 hours and 27 minutes is the longest day, while 13 hours and 14 minutes is the shortest.
Libya: 13 hours and 18 minutes is the shortest day, while 14 hours and 20 minutes is the longest.
Morocco: 14 hours and 12 minutes is the longest day, while 13 hours and 12 minutes is the shortest.
Egypt: 14 hours and 34 minutes is the longest day, while the shortest is 13 hours and 17 minutes.
Iraq: 14 hours and 18 minutes is the longest day, while 13 hours and 13 minutes is the shortest.
Bahrain: The longest day is 14 hours, while the shortest is 13 hours and 13 minutes.
UAE: 13 hours and 12 minutes is the shortest day, while 13 hours and 57 minutes is the longest.
Saudi Arabia: 13 hours and 13 minutes is the shortest day, while 13 hours and 56 minutes is the longest.
Oman: 13 hours and 13 minutes is the shortest day, while 13 hours and 54 minutes is the longest.
Kuwait: 14 hours and 8 minutes is the longest day, while 13 hours and 14 minutes is the shortest.
Lebanon: 13 hours and 12 minutes is the shortest day, while 14 hours and 17 minutes is the longest.
Jordan: 13 hours and 12 minutes is the shortest day, while 14 hours and 15 minutes is the longest.
Palestine: 13 hours and 10 minutes is the shortest day, while 14 hours and 11 minutes is the longest.
Syria: 14 hours and 19 minutes is the longest day, while 13 hours and 13 minutes is the shortest.
Qatar: 13 hours and 13 minutes is the shortest day, while 13 hours and 59 minutes is the longest.
Mauretania: The shortest fasting day almost consists of 13 hours and 10 minutes, while the longest day is 13 hours and 42 minutes.
Sudan: 13 hours and 16 minutes is the shortest day, while 13 hours and 43 minutes is the longest.
Yemen: 13 hours and 13 minutes is the shortest day, while 13 hours and 39 minutes is the longest.
Somalia: 13 hours and 15 minutes is the shortest day, while 13 hours and 18 minutes is the longest.
Djibouti: 13 hours and 11 minutes is the shortest day, while 13 hours and 31 minutes is the longest.
Comoros: 13 hours and 18 minutes is the shortest day, while 13 hours and 23 minutes is the longest.
