This year’s Ramadan is expected to start on the night of Friday, February 28, with the first day of fasting on Saturday, March 1.
As Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, the holy month is based on the Islamic lunar calendar which is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian solar year, and so its start shifts earlier each year. While the number of days of Ramadan are equal for all Muslims observing it around the world, the length of the daily fast is not.
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During Ramadan, observers vow to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual activities through daylight hours.
This means that those living further north have to fast for much longer than their counterparts living closer to the equator or even to those in the Southern hemisphere, which is currently tilted away from the sun.
The chart above, based on data from website islamicfinder.com, shows that Muslims fasting for Ramadan in Reykjavík, Island, will have to fast for up to 16 hours and 29 minutes, which is the time between sunrise and sunset on March 29, the last and longest day of fasting this year.
Meanwhile Muslims living in Melbourne, Australia, will only need to fast for a…
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