# Public holidays in Zambia 2026

Zambia has 17 public holidays in 2026. 12 fall on a weekday and 5 on the weekend, with 2 substitute days off marked as observed, which leaves 247 working days out of 365. The weekend is Saturday and Sunday.

- Source: OpenWorkdays, https://openworkdays.com/zambia/2026/ (dataset holidays 0.103, CC BY 4.0)
- JSON: https://openworkdays.com/api/v1/zm/2026.json
- iCalendar: https://openworkdays.com/api/v1/zm/2026.ics
- CSV: https://openworkdays.com/api/v1/zm/2026.csv
- All years: https://openworkdays.com/api/v1/zm.json

## Summary 2026

| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Public holidays | 17 |
| Substitute days off (observed) | 2 |
| Holidays on weekdays | 14 |
| Holidays on the weekend | 5 |
| Weekend days | 104 |
| Working days | 247 |
| Calendar days | 365 |

## Holiday dates 2026

| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-01 | Thursday | New Year's Day |
| 2026-03-08 | Sunday | International Women's Day |
| 2026-03-09 | Monday | International Women's Day (observed) |
| 2026-03-12 | Thursday | Youth Day |
| 2026-04-03 | Friday | Good Friday |
| 2026-04-04 | Saturday | Holy Saturday |
| 2026-04-05 | Sunday | Easter Sunday |
| 2026-04-06 | Monday | Easter Monday |
| 2026-04-28 | Tuesday | Kenneth Kaunda Day |
| 2026-05-01 | Friday | Labour Day |
| 2026-05-25 | Monday | Africa Freedom Day |
| 2026-07-06 | Monday | Heroes' Day |
| 2026-07-07 | Tuesday | Unity Day |
| 2026-08-03 | Monday | Farmers' Day |
| 2026-08-13 | Thursday | General Election Day |
| 2026-10-18 | Sunday | National Prayer Day |
| 2026-10-19 | Monday | National Prayer Day (observed) |
| 2026-10-24 | Saturday | Independence Day |
| 2026-12-25 | Friday | Christmas Day |

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.

| 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 | 2 | 20 |
| April 2026 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 19 |
| May 2026 | 31 | 10 | 2 | 19 |
| June 2026 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 |
| July 2026 | 31 | 8 | 2 | 21 |
| August 2026 | 31 | 10 | 2 | 19 |
| September 2026 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 |
| October 2026 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 21 |
| November 2026 | 30 | 9 | 0 | 21 |
| December 2026 | 31 | 8 | 1 | 22 |
| Total 2026 | 365 | 104 | 14 | 247 |

## Long weekends in 2026

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

- 3 days, Sat 7 to Mon 9 March 2026: International Women's Day
- 4 days, Fri 3 to Mon 6 April 2026: Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday
- 3 days, Fri 1 to Sun 3 May 2026: Labour Day
- 3 days, Sat 23 to Mon 25 May 2026: Africa Freedom Day
- 4 days, Sat 4 to Tue 7 July 2026: Heroes' Day, Unity Day
- 3 days, Sat 1 to Mon 3 August 2026: Farmers' Day
- 3 days, Sat 17 to Mon 19 October 2026: National Prayer Day
- 3 days, Fri 25 to Sun 27 December 2026: Christmas Day

## Bridge days in 2026

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

- Take off Friday 2 January 2026 for Thu 1 to Sun 4 January 2026 (4 days): New Year's Day
- Take off Friday 13 March 2026 for Thu 12 to Sun 15 March 2026 (4 days): Youth Day
- Take off Monday 27 April 2026 for Sat 25 to Tue 28 April 2026 (4 days): Kenneth Kaunda Day
- Take off Friday 14 August 2026 for Thu 13 to Sun 16 August 2026 (4 days): General Election Day

## Questions about 2026 in Zambia

**How many working days are there in Zambia in 2026?** 247 working days. 2026 has 365 days, 104 of them weekend days and 14 public holidays on weekdays.

**How many public holidays does Zambia have in 2026?** 17 public holidays, plus 2 substitute days off. 5 fall on the weekend.

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

## Other years

- [Zambia 2024](https://openworkdays.com/zambia/2024.md)
- [Zambia 2025](https://openworkdays.com/zambia/2025.md)
- [Zambia 2026](https://openworkdays.com/zambia/2026.md)
- [Zambia 2027](https://openworkdays.com/zambia/2027.md)
- [Zambia 2028](https://openworkdays.com/zambia/2028.md)
- [Zambia 2029](https://openworkdays.com/zambia/2029.md)
- [Zambia 2030](https://openworkdays.com/zambia/2030.md)

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