JANUARY 1 is upon us and the world is coming together to welcome 2019.

But obviously, the New Year arrives at different times for different countries across the world. So which country enters 2019 before any other and where does the New Year arrive last?

Which country celebrates New Year first?
Fireworks exploding over Sydney harbour symbolises the start of global New Year’s festivities for most Brits.

But it may surprise you to hear that Australia is not the first country in the world to welcome the New Year.

The tiny Pacific island of Tonga will ring in 2019 at 10am GMT on December 31 – a full three hours before it reaches Down Under.

Where will 2019 arrive last?
After travelling all around the world, the New Year will eventually come full circle – or near enough.

The last place or places to receive 2019 will be the tiny outlying islands of the US.

Baker Island and Howland Island will greet the New Year at 12 Midday on January 1 – or at least they would if any people lived there.

Second last will be American Samoa at 11am – just 558 miles from Tonga, where locals and visitors were celebrating a full 25 hours before.

It's therefore possible to get a quick flight in between the two and count down to 2019 twice.

Using London time, this is when the world will welcome 2019:

Sun 10:00 Tonga and two more
Sun 11:00 New Zealand
Sun 13:00-15:15 Australia
Sun 15:00 Japan & South Korea
Sun 15:30 North Korea
Sun 16:00 China, Philippines, Singapore
Sun 17:00 Most of Indonesia
Sun 17:30 Myanmar and Cocos Islands
Sun 18:00 Bangladesh
Sun 18:15 Nepal
Sun 18:30 India and Sri Lanka
Sun 19:00 Pakistan
Sun 19:30 Afghanistan
Sun 20:00 Azerbaijan
Sun 20:30 Iran
Sun 21:00 Moscow/Russia
Sun 22:00 Greece
Sun 23:00 Germany
Mon 00:00 United Kingdom
Mon 02-3:00 Brazil
Mon 03:00 Argentina, Paraguay
Mon 03:30-8:00 USA, Canada
Mon 09:00 Alaska
Mon 10:00 Hawaii
Mon 11:00 American Samoa
Mon 12:00 US outlying islands (Baker Island, Howland Island etc)