Date formats by country (DMY / MDY / YMD)
Three conventions dominate: DMY (most of the world), MDY (the US) and YMD (East Asia, ISO 8601). Ambiguity strikes with numbers like 03/04 — March 4 or April 3 — so always match the local format.
| Country / region | Format | Example (4 March 2026) | Separator |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | MDY | 03/04/2026 | / or - |
| Philippines | MDY | 03/04/2026 | / |
| United Kingdom | DMY | 04/03/2026 | / or . |
| Ireland | DMY | 04/03/2026 | / |
| Germany | DMY | 04.03.2026 | . |
| France | DMY | 04/03/2026 | / |
| Spain | DMY | 04/03/2026 | / or - |
| Italy | DMY | 04/03/2026 | / |
| Netherlands | DMY | 04-03-2026 | - |
| Poland | DMY | 04.03.2026 | . |
| Russia | DMY | 04.03.2026 | . |
| Brazil | DMY | 04/03/2026 | / |
| Australia | DMY | 04/03/2026 | / |
| New Zealand | DMY | 04/03/2026 | / |
| India | DMY | 04/03/2026 | / or - |
| Turkey | DMY | 04.03.2026 | . |
| China | YMD | 2026-03-04 | - |
| Japan | YMD | 2026/03/04 or 2026年3月4日 | / or 年月日 |
| South Korea | YMD | 2026-03-04 or 2026년 3월 4일 | - or 년월일 |
| Taiwan | YMD | 2026-03-04 (民國115年) | - |
| Sweden | YMD | 2026-03-04 | - (ISO 8601) |
| Hungary | YMD | 2026.03.04 | . |
| Canada | Mixed (YMD official) | 2026-03-04 | - (ISO 8601) |
| Thailand | DMY | 04/03/2569 (Buddhist era) | / |
Notes
- ISO 8601 (YMD, 2026-03-04) is the international standard for data, code and aviation.
- US customs forms, medical charts and news always use MDY — the biggest source of cross-border date bugs.
- Thailand and Taiwan often use their own era years (Buddhist 2569 = 2026 CE; ROC 115 = 2026).
Frequently asked questions
- Which countries use month-day-year?
- Almost exclusively the United States, plus a few others influenced by it such as the Philippines. Canada officially uses YMD but MDY is common informally.
- What is the international date format?
- ISO 8601: YYYY-MM-DD (2026-03-04). It sorts correctly as text and is unambiguous — use it in code, filenames and data.
- Why is 03/04 ambiguous?
- In the US it reads March 4; in most other countries April 3. Over 20 countries use DMY while the US uses MDY, so slash dates should be avoided internationally.