As we step into the new year, we can all say that it’s currently 2025. That would be the case for most of the world except a select few countries. 195 recognized countries follow the Gregorian Calendar except for 5. But why is that?
To start, let’s answer the question of, what is the Gregorian Calendar. The Gregorian Calendar is the one we all know of which is 12 months and the current year, 2025. There are 365 days, divided into 12 months with 28-31 days each. The calendar was first adapted in 1582 in Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. It’s one of the most accurate calendars we have, which is why most of the world follows it with a margin error of 27 seconds per year. It is a solar calendar and follows the progression of the seasons as the Earth revolves around the Sun.
Moving on, the following countries are Afghanistan, Iran, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Saudi Arabia. They follow their calendars.
Afghanistan and Iran use the Solar Hijri Calendar and on their calendar, they are in the year 1403. They’ll have their New Year’s when it is March 20, 2025.
Ethiopia’s calendar is 8 years behind the Gregorian Calendar and that means it is currently 2017 in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian year starts on the 11th of September or the 12th of September on the Gregorian Calendar.
The Nepal calendar calls January, Poush, and they are right now in Poush, 2081. New Year’s there is called Nepal Sambat and is celebrated in Navavarsha or April.
Saudi Arabia uses the Islamic Calendar and it is 1446 AH. 1446 AH runs from July 7, 2024, to June 26, 2025.