# Public holidays in South Africa 2025

South Africa has 12 public holidays in 2025. 10 fall on a weekday and 2 on the weekend, with 1 substitute day off marked as observed, which leaves 250 working days out of 365. The weekend is Saturday and Sunday.

Note: When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a public holiday, as shown in the list.

- Source: OpenWorkdays, https://openworkdays.com/south-africa/2025/ (dataset holidays 0.103, CC BY 4.0)
- JSON: https://openworkdays.com/api/v1/za/2025.json
- iCalendar: https://openworkdays.com/api/v1/za/2025.ics
- CSV: https://openworkdays.com/api/v1/za/2025.csv
- All years: https://openworkdays.com/api/v1/za.json

## Summary 2025

| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Public holidays | 12 |
| Substitute days off (observed) | 1 |
| Holidays on weekdays | 11 |
| Holidays on the weekend | 2 |
| Weekend days | 104 |
| Working days | 250 |
| Calendar days | 365 |

## Holiday dates 2025

| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-01 | Wednesday | New Year's Day |
| 2025-03-21 | Friday | Human Rights Day |
| 2025-04-18 | Friday | Good Friday |
| 2025-04-21 | Monday | Family Day |
| 2025-04-27 | Sunday | Freedom Day |
| 2025-04-28 | Monday | Freedom Day (observed) |
| 2025-05-01 | Thursday | Workers' Day |
| 2025-06-16 | Monday | Youth Day |
| 2025-08-09 | Saturday | National Women's Day |
| 2025-09-24 | Wednesday | Heritage Day |
| 2025-12-16 | Tuesday | Day of Reconciliation |
| 2025-12-25 | Thursday | Christmas Day |
| 2025-12-26 | Friday | Day of Goodwill |

Observed marks a substitute day off granted because the holiday itself falls on a weekend.

## Working days per month in 2025

A working day is any day that is neither a weekend day (Saturday and Sunday) nor a public holiday.

| Month | Calendar days | Weekend days | Holidays on weekdays | Working days |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| January 2025 | 31 | 8 | 1 | 22 |
| February 2025 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 20 |
| March 2025 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 20 |
| April 2025 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 19 |
| May 2025 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 21 |
| June 2025 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 20 |
| July 2025 | 31 | 8 | 0 | 23 |
| August 2025 | 31 | 10 | 0 | 21 |
| September 2025 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 |
| October 2025 | 31 | 8 | 0 | 23 |
| November 2025 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
| December 2025 | 31 | 8 | 3 | 20 |
| Total 2025 | 365 | 104 | 11 | 250 |

## Long weekends in 2025

Breaks of three days or more that need no annual leave.

- 3 days, Fri 21 to Sun 23 March 2025: Human Rights Day
- 4 days, Fri 18 to Mon 21 April 2025: Good Friday, Family Day
- 3 days, Sat 26 to Mon 28 April 2025: Freedom Day
- 3 days, Sat 14 to Mon 16 June 2025: Youth Day
- 4 days, Thu 25 to Sun 28 December 2025: Christmas Day, Day of Goodwill

## Bridge days in 2025

Take one day of leave on the date shown and turn a holiday into a longer break.

- Take off Friday 2 May 2025 for Thu 1 to Sun 4 May 2025 (4 days): Workers' Day
- Take off Monday 15 December 2025 for Sat 13 to Tue 16 December 2025 (4 days): Day of Reconciliation

## Questions about 2025 in South Africa

**How many working days are there in South Africa in 2025?** 250 working days. 2025 has 365 days, 104 of them weekend days and 11 public holidays on weekdays.

**How many public holidays does South Africa have in 2025?** 12 public holidays, plus 1 substitute day off. 2 fall on the weekend.

**What counts as the weekend in South Africa?** Saturday and Sunday.

## Other years

- [South Africa 2024](https://openworkdays.com/south-africa/2024.md)
- [South Africa 2025](https://openworkdays.com/south-africa/2025.md)
- [South Africa 2026](https://openworkdays.com/south-africa/2026.md)
- [South Africa 2027](https://openworkdays.com/south-africa/2027.md)
- [South Africa 2028](https://openworkdays.com/south-africa/2028.md)
- [South Africa 2029](https://openworkdays.com/south-africa/2029.md)
- [South Africa 2030](https://openworkdays.com/south-africa/2030.md)

Licence: CC BY 4.0, attribution to OpenWorkdays (https://openworkdays.com/). Methodology: https://openworkdays.com/methodology/