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.
17public holidays
14weekday days off, substitutes included
247working days in 2026
104weekend days
Holiday dates 2026
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | New Year's Day | |
| Sunday weekend | International Women's Day | |
| Monday | International Women's Day observed | |
| Thursday | Youth Day | |
| Friday | Good Friday | |
| Saturday weekend | Holy Saturday | |
| Sunday weekend | Easter Sunday | |
| Monday | Easter Monday | |
| Tuesday | Kenneth Kaunda Day | |
| Friday | Labour Day | |
| Monday | Africa Freedom Day | |
| Monday | Heroes' Day | |
| Tuesday | Unity Day | |
| Monday | Farmers' Day | |
| Thursday | General Election Day | |
| Sunday weekend | National Prayer Day | |
| Monday | National Prayer Day observed | |
| Saturday weekend | Independence Day | |
| 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. 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 | 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 |
public holidayweekendbridge day
Jan21 wd
Feb20 wd
Mar20 wd
Apr19 wd
May19 wd
Jun22 wd
Jul21 wd
Aug19 wd
Sep22 wd
Oct21 wd
Nov21 wd
Dec22 wd
Long weekends and bridge days in 2026
Breaks of three days or more that need no annual leave at all.
- 3 daysSat 7 to Mon 9 March 2026International Women's Day
- 4 daysFri 3 to Mon 6 April 2026Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday
- 3 daysFri 1 to Sun 3 May 2026Labour Day
- 3 daysSat 23 to Mon 25 May 2026Africa Freedom Day
- 4 daysSat 4 to Tue 7 July 2026Heroes' Day, Unity Day
- 3 daysSat 1 to Mon 3 August 2026Farmers' Day
- 3 daysSat 17 to Mon 19 October 2026National Prayer Day
- 3 daysFri 25 to Sun 27 December 2026Christmas Day
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 Friday 13 March 2026 for Thu 12 to Sun 15 March 2026Youth Day
- 4 daysTake off Monday 27 April 2026 for Sat 25 to Tue 28 April 2026Kenneth Kaunda Day
- 4 daysTake off Friday 14 August 2026 for Thu 13 to Sun 16 August 2026General 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.
- Which 2026 holidays fall on a weekend?
- International Women's Day (8 March 2026), Holy Saturday (4 April 2026), Easter Sunday (5 April 2026), National Prayer Day (18 October 2026), Independence Day (24 October 2026).
- What counts as the weekend in Zambia?
- Saturday and Sunday. The calculator lets you change this if your organisation works a different week.
- What about 2027?
- See public holidays in Zambia 2027 or go back to 2025.
Cite or reuse this data
Zambia has 17 public holidays and 247 working days in 2026.
Source: OpenWorkdays, https://openworkdays.com/zambia/2026/ (dataset holidays 0.103, CC BY 4.0).
Machine readable: JSON, Markdown, ICS, CSV.