Public Holidays in South Africa 2026

13 days off · open Nager.Date data · updated automatically

South Africa

13 public holidays in 2026 · 13 across the whole country
Next day off: Election Day · Wednesday, 4 November 2026 · 6 days away

Total days off 2026

13 national · 0 state/regional

Busiest month

December

3 holidays inside one month

Most frequent weekday

Monday

3 holidays fall on this day

Every public holiday in South Africa 2026

Date	Day	Celebration	Scope	Type
2026-01-01	Thursday	New Year's Day	Whole country	Public
2026-03-21	Saturday	Human Rights Day	Whole country	Public
2026-04-03	Friday	Good Friday	Whole country	Public
2026-04-06	Monday	Family Day	Whole country	Public
2026-04-27	Monday	Freedom Day	Whole country	Public
2026-05-01	Friday	Workers' Day	Whole country	Public
2026-06-16	Tuesday	Youth Day	Whole country	Public
2026-08-10	Monday	National Women's Day	Whole country	Public
2026-09-24	Thursday	Heritage Day	Whole country	Public
2026-11-04	Wednesday	Election Day	Whole country	Public
2026-12-16	Wednesday	Day of Reconciliation	Whole country	Public
2026-12-25	Friday	Christmas Day	Whole country	Public
2026-12-26	Saturday	St. Stephen's Day (Day of Goodwill)	Whole country	Public

Long weekends in South Africa 2026

Period	Starts	Days	Bridge day
1 Jan – 4 Jan	Thursday	4 days	2026-01-02
3 Apr – 6 Apr	Friday	4 days	Automatic
25 Apr – 27 Apr	Saturday	3 days	Automatic
1 May – 3 May	Friday	3 days	Automatic
13 Jun – 16 Jun	Saturday	4 days	2026-06-15
8 Aug – 10 Aug	Saturday	3 days	Automatic
24 Sept – 27 Sept	Thursday	4 days	2026-09-25
25 Dec – 27 Dec	Friday	3 days	Automatic

Planning leave in South Africa

South Africa gives 13 public days off in 2026 — all of them nationwide. The longest weekend run this year is 4 days (1 Jan – 4 Jan). The busiest month is December, and holidays land most often on a Monday — two facts that are enough to decide when a ticket must be bought early.

Countries with multi-faith calendars usually have «moving» holidays (Eid al-Fitr, Easter, Chinese New Year, Diwali) whose dates change every year, so check the table a year ahead before booking school holidays.

The full profile of South Africa (capital, population, GDP, neighbours): Country Complex · socioeconomic ranking: Statistics Complex · active natural events: Disaster Complex.

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