Eastern Time (Port-au-Prince)

Haiti uses Eastern Time (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time following the same schedule as the United States and Canada. Port-au-Prince, the capital, is the largest city in the nation and the center of its political and economic life. Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, but the two countries use different timezone rules — the Dominican Republic uses Atlantic Standard Time (UTC-4) year-round. This means that during winter, Haiti and the DR are one hour apart despite sharing an island, and they align during summer when Haiti observes EDT. Haiti's adoption of US-aligned DST makes sense given its strong economic and diaspora connections to the United States, particularly the large Haitian communities in Miami, New York, and Boston. The timezone facilitates remittances, which constitute a major portion of Haiti's GDP. International aid organizations operating in Haiti also benefit from the timezone alignment with their US headquarters. Haiti is the oldest independent nation in the Caribbean and the first country founded by formerly enslaved people.