Public holidays · 2026 and 2027
Public holidays in South Africa 2026
South Africa has 13 public holidays in 2026: 11 on working days and 2 on a weekend. The next one is Local Government Elections on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, in 37 days.
Dates as of Monday, September 28, 2026. Source: the open-source holidays library, version 0.105.How 2026 falls in South Africa
Counting Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, 11 of the 13 holiday dates in 2026 fall on a working day and 2 on a weekend.
Counting Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, 11 of the 13 holiday dates in 2026 fall on a working day and 2 on a weekend. The most common weekday for a holiday is Monday or Friday, with 3 dates.
Six of the 13 dates land on a Monday or Friday, next to the weekend, so they make a long weekend without using any leave: Good Friday on Friday, April 3, Family Day on Monday, April 6, Freedom Day on Monday, April 27, Workers' Day on Friday, May 1, National Women's Day (observed) on Monday, August 10 and Christmas Day on Friday, December 25. Three more holidays sit one working day away from the weekend, so a single day of leave turns each into a four-day break: New Year's Day on Thursday, January 1 (take Friday off), Youth Day on Tuesday, June 16 (take Monday off) and Heritage Day on Thursday, September 24 (take Friday off).
April and December are the busiest months, with 3 holiday dates. February, July and October have no public holiday at all. The longest stretch between two holidays is 79 days, from New Year's Day on January 1 to Human Rights Day on March 21, the natural window for a longer break.
One entry is an observed, substitute or bridge day that moves a holiday onto a working day: National Women's Day (observed) on August 10.
2027 brings 12 public holidays, 1 holiday fewer than 2026. 10 of the 12 dates fall on a working day, and 7 land next to the weekend.
The .ics files import into Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar as all-day events.
2026 public holidays in South Africa
| Date | Weekday | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | New Year's Day | |
| SaturdayWeekend | Human Rights Day | |
| Friday | Good Friday | |
| Monday | Family Day | |
| Monday | Freedom Day | |
| Friday | Workers' Day | |
| Tuesday | Youth Day | |
| SundayMoved | National Women's Day | |
| Monday | National Women's Day (observed) | |
| Thursday | Heritage Day | |
| WednesdayNext | Local Government Elections | |
| Wednesday | Day of Reconciliation | |
| Friday | Christmas Day | |
| SaturdayWeekend | Day of Goodwill |
2027 public holidays in South Africa
12 holidays on 12 dates.
| Date | Weekday | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Friday | New Year's Day | |
| SundayMoved | Human Rights Day | |
| Monday | Human Rights Day (observed) | |
| Friday | Good Friday | |
| Monday | Family Day | |
| Tuesday | Freedom Day | |
| SaturdayWeekend | Workers' Day | |
| Wednesday | Youth Day | |
| Monday | National Women's Day | |
| Friday | Heritage Day | |
| Thursday | Day of Reconciliation | |
| SaturdayWeekend | Christmas Day | |
| SundayMoved | Day of Goodwill | |
| Monday | Day of Goodwill (observed) |
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