Public holidays in South Africa 2026
South Africa has 12 public holidays in 2026. 9 fall on a weekday and 3 on the weekend, with 1 substitute day off marked as observed, which leaves 251 working days out of 365. The weekend is Saturday and Sunday.
12public holidays
10weekday days off, substitutes included
251working days in 2026
104weekend days
When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a public holiday, as shown in the list.
Holiday dates 2026
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | New Year's Day | |
| Saturday weekend | Human Rights Day | |
| Friday | Good Friday | |
| Monday | Family Day | |
| Monday | Freedom Day | |
| Friday | Workers' Day | |
| Tuesday | Youth Day | |
| Sunday weekend | National Women's Day | |
| Monday | National Women's Day observed | |
| Thursday | Heritage Day | |
| Wednesday | Day of Reconciliation | |
| Friday | Christmas Day | |
| Saturday weekend | Day of Goodwill |
Observed marks a substitute day off granted because the holiday itself falls on a weekend.
Working days per month in 2026
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 2026 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 21 |
| February 2026 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 20 |
| March 2026 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 22 |
| April 2026 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 19 |
| May 2026 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 20 |
| June 2026 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 |
| July 2026 | 31 | 8 | 0 | 23 |
| August 2026 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 20 |
| September 2026 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 |
| October 2026 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 22 |
| November 2026 | 30 | 9 | 0 | 21 |
| December 2026 | 31 | 8 | 2 | 21 |
| Total 2026 | 365 | 104 | 10 | 251 |
public holidayweekendbridge day
Jan21 wd
Feb20 wd
Mar22 wd
Apr19 wd
May20 wd
Jun21 wd
Jul23 wd
Aug20 wd
Sep21 wd
Oct22 wd
Nov21 wd
Dec21 wd
Long weekends and bridge days in 2026
Breaks of three days or more that need no annual leave at all.
- 4 daysFri 3 to Mon 6 April 2026Good Friday, Family Day
- 3 daysSat 25 to Mon 27 April 2026Freedom Day
- 3 daysFri 1 to Sun 3 May 2026Workers' Day
- 3 daysSat 8 to Mon 10 August 2026National Women's Day
- 3 daysFri 25 to Sun 27 December 2026Christmas 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 January 2026 for Thu 1 to Sun 4 January 2026New Year's Day
- 4 daysTake off Monday 15 June 2026 for Sat 13 to Tue 16 June 2026Youth Day
- 4 daysTake off Friday 25 September 2026 for Thu 24 to Sun 27 September 2026Heritage Day
Questions about 2026 in South Africa
- How many working days are there in South Africa in 2026?
- 251 working days. 2026 has 365 days, 104 of them weekend days and 10 public holidays on weekdays.
- How many public holidays does South Africa have in 2026?
- 12 public holidays, plus 1 substitute day off. 3 fall on the weekend.
- Which 2026 holidays fall on a weekend?
- Human Rights Day (21 March 2026), National Women's Day (9 August 2026), Day of Goodwill (26 December 2026).
- 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 2027?
- See public holidays in South Africa 2027 or go back to 2025.
Cite or reuse this data
South Africa has 12 public holidays and 251 working days in 2026.
Source: OpenWorkdays, https://openworkdays.com/south-africa/2026/ (dataset holidays 0.103, CC BY 4.0).
Machine readable: JSON, Markdown, ICS, CSV.