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🇿🇦 South Africa public holidays 2026

South Africa has 14 public holidays in 2026, plus 27 other observances and regional holidays. The first is New Year's Day on January 1 and the last is Day of Goodwill on December 26.

11 of the public holidays fall on a weekday in 2026, so that's how many days off most workers get from them.

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All holidays in South Africa in 2026

Date	Holiday	Type
January 1Thursday	New Year's Day	Public holiday
January 2Friday	Tweede Nuwe Jaar	Observance
January 16Friday	Isra and Mi'raj	Religious holiday
February 18Wednesday	Ramadan Start	Religious holiday
February 21Saturday	Armed Forces Day	Observance
March 3Tuesday	Holi	Religious holiday
March 15Sunday	Lailat al-Qadr	Religious holiday
March 20Friday	Eid ul Fitr	Religious holiday
March 20Friday	March Equinox	Observance
March 21Saturday	Human Rights Day	Public holiday
April 3Friday	Good Friday	Public holiday
April 4Saturday	Holy Saturday	Religious holiday
April 5Sunday	Easter Sunday	Religious holiday
April 6Monday	Family Day	Public holiday
April 27Monday	Freedom Day	Public holiday
May 1Friday	Workers' Day	Public holiday
May 10Sunday	Mother's Day	Observance
May 27Wednesday	Eid al-Adha	Religious holiday
June 16Tuesday	Youth Day	Public holiday
June 17Wednesday	Muharram	Religious holiday
June 21Sunday	Father's Day	Observance
June 21Sunday	June Solstice	Observance
July 18Saturday	Nelson Mandela Day	Observance
August 9Sunday	National Women's Day	Public holiday
August 10Monday	National Women's Day	Public holiday
August 26Wednesday	Milad un Nabi	Religious holiday
August 27Thursday	Raksha Bandhan	Religious holiday
September 4Friday	Janmashtami	Religious holiday
September 14Monday	Ganesh Chaturthi	Religious holiday
September 23Wednesday	September Equinox	Observance
September 24Thursday	Heritage Day	Public holiday
October 11Sunday	Navaratri	Religious holiday
October 20Tuesday	Dussehra	Religious holiday
November 4Wednesday	Local Government Elections	Public holiday
November 8Sunday	Diwali	Religious holiday
December 16Wednesday	Day of Reconciliation	Public holiday
December 21Monday	December Solstice	Observance
December 24Thursday	Christmas Eve	Religious holiday
December 25Friday	Christmas Day	Public holiday
December 26Saturday	Day of GoodwillSt. Stephen's Day	Public holiday
December 31Thursday	New Year's Eve	Observance