How to Get the Current Year in Javascript

To get the current year in JavaScript, you can use the built-in Date object. Below are two possible approaches to retrieve the current year:

1. Using the getFullYear method

The Date object in JavaScript has a method called getFullYear that returns the current year as a four-digit number. Here’s an example:

const currentYear = new Date().getFullYear();
console.log(currentYear);

This will output the current year in the console.

Related Article: How to Format JavaScript Dates as YYYY-MM-DD

2. Using the getUTCFullYear method

Similar to the getFullYear method, the Date object also provides a getUTCFullYear method that returns the current year in UTC. Here’s an example:

const currentYear = new Date().getUTCFullYear();
console.log(currentYear);

This will output the current year in UTC in the console.

Best Practices and Suggestions

Here are some best practices and suggestions when working with the current year in JavaScript:

– Remember that the Date object represents the current date and time. If you only need the current year, you can create a new instance of the Date object without passing any arguments.
– Be aware that JavaScript’s Date object returns the current year based on the user’s system clock. If the user’s system clock is incorrect, the returned year will also be incorrect.
– If you need to display the current year on a webpage, you can directly set the value using JavaScript. For example, to display the current year in an HTML element with the id “year”:

  const currentYear = new Date().getFullYear();
  document.getElementById("year").textContent = currentYear;


<p>© <span id="year"></span> My Website. All rights reserved.</p>

This will dynamically update the year whenever the page is loaded.

– To manipulate or perform calculations with the current year, it’s recommended to store it in a variable. This avoids calling the Date object multiple times and improves code readability.

const currentYear = new Date().getFullYear();

// Example: Checking if a year is a leap year
function isLeapYear(year) {
  // implementation
}

if (isLeapYear(currentYear)) {
  console.log("The current year is a leap year!");
} else {
  console.log("The current year is not a leap year.");
}

– If you’re working with date and time in general, consider using a library like Moment.js. Moment.js provides a comprehensive set of utilities for parsing, validating, manipulating, and formatting dates and times.

const currentYear = moment().year();
console.log(currentYear);

This example assumes you have imported the Moment.js library into your project.

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