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.
12public holidays
11weekday days off, substitutes included
250working days in 2025
104weekend days
When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a public holiday, as shown in the list.
Holiday dates 2025
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | New Year's Day | |
| Friday | Human Rights Day | |
| Friday | Good Friday | |
| Monday | Family Day | |
| Sunday weekend | Freedom Day | |
| Monday | Freedom Day observed | |
| Thursday | Workers' Day | |
| Monday | Youth Day | |
| Saturday weekend | National Women's Day | |
| Wednesday | Heritage Day | |
| Tuesday | Day of Reconciliation | |
| Thursday | Christmas Day | |
| 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. Holidays that fall on the weekend do not reduce the count.
| 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 |
public holidayweekendbridge day
Jan22 wd
Feb20 wd
Mar20 wd
Apr19 wd
May21 wd
Jun20 wd
Jul23 wd
Aug21 wd
Sep21 wd
Oct23 wd
Nov20 wd
Dec20 wd
Long weekends and bridge days in 2025
Breaks of three days or more that need no annual leave at all.
- 3 daysFri 21 to Sun 23 March 2025Human Rights Day
- 4 daysFri 18 to Mon 21 April 2025Good Friday, Family Day
- 3 daysSat 26 to Mon 28 April 2025Freedom Day
- 3 daysSat 14 to Mon 16 June 2025Youth Day
- 4 daysThu 25 to Sun 28 December 2025Christmas Day, Day of Goodwill
Take one day of leave on the date shown and turn a holiday into a longer break.
- 4 daysTake off Friday 2 May 2025 for Thu 1 to Sun 4 May 2025Workers' Day
- 4 daysTake off Monday 15 December 2025 for Sat 13 to Tue 16 December 2025Day 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.
- Which 2025 holidays fall on a weekend?
- Freedom Day (27 April 2025), National Women's Day (9 August 2025).
- What counts as the weekend in South Africa?
- Saturday and Sunday. The calculator lets you change this if your organisation works a different week.
- What about 2026?
- See public holidays in South Africa 2026 or go back to 2024.
Cite or reuse this data
South Africa has 12 public holidays and 250 working days in 2025.
Source: OpenWorkdays, https://openworkdays.com/south-africa/2025/ (dataset holidays 0.103, CC BY 4.0).
Machine readable: JSON, Markdown, ICS, CSV.