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South Africa
Public holidays, market closures and deadlines for South Africa, with the evidence behind each date and the day it was last checked.
The next public holiday in South Africa is
National Women's Day
In 3 days
Computed · local time Africa/Johannesburg
Work with South Africa’s calendar
- Count working days Business days between two dates, with South Africa’s closures removed and every excluded day named.
- Find the next business day Add or subtract N working days from a date, skipping weekends and closures — for filing and settlement dates.
- Discover long weekends Every run of consecutive days off in a year, and the bridge days worth taking. Pick South Africa from the list.
- Compare with your other markets South Africa beside the rest — the weeks that work everywhere, and which dates are still estimates.
South Africa public holidays in 2026
12 national closures in 2026, of 13 observances held for the country. Subdivisions and the observed-but-open layer are not counted here.
| Date | Observance | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2026 | New Year's Day | Verified |
| 21 March 2026 | Human Rights Day | Verified |
| 3 April 2026 | Good Friday | Verified |
| 6 April 2026 | Easter Monday | Verified |
| 27 April 2026 | Freedom Day | Verified |
| 1 May 2026 | Workers' Day | Verified |
| 16 June 2026 | Youth Day | Verified |
| 10 August 2026 | National Women's Day | Verified |
| 24 September 2026 | Heritage Day | Verified |
| 16 December 2026 | Reconciliation | Verified |
| 25 December 2026 | Christmas Day | Verified |
| 26 December 2026 | Goodwill | Verified |
Long weekends in South Africa, 2026
8 runs of three days or more, including the ones you only get by taking a single bridge day off. Weekends and national closures only.
| When | Length | Because of | Leave |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan – 4 Jan | 4 days | New Year's Day | take Fri 2 Jan |
| 3 Apr – 6 Apr | 4 days | Good Friday, Easter Monday | no leave needed |
| 25 Apr – 27 Apr | 3 days | Freedom Day | no leave needed |
| 1 May – 3 May | 3 days | Workers' Day | no leave needed |
| 13 Jun – 16 Jun | 4 days | Youth Day | take Mon 15 Jun |
| 8 Aug – 10 Aug | 3 days | National Women's Day | no leave needed |
| 24 Sep – 27 Sep | 4 days | Heritage Day | take Fri 25 Sep |
| 25 Dec – 27 Dec | 3 days | Christmas Day, Goodwill | no leave needed |
How South Africa keeps time
| Observances | 13 across the national calendar and 1 subdivision |
|---|---|
| Evidence | 12 verified · 0 corroborated · 1 compiled, from 2 named sources |
| Languages | af, English, xh, zu |
| Calendar systems | gregorian |
| Exchanges | XJSE |
| Last reviewed | 2026-08-03 |
The South Africa dossier
Contents are emitted when the dossier is compiled, so this list and the PDF cannot disagree.
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Global Operating Calendar
South Africa beside every other market you work in — the weeks that work everywhere, where office hours overlap, and which dates are estimates rather than facts.
Subscribe in your calendar Public holidays for South Africa, 2026–2028, refreshed daily. No account needed — download the .ics instead if you prefer.
The same dossier exists for all 241 jurisdictions, priced by depth rather than by which country it is — browse the dossiers.
We do not promise a calendar that never changes. Dates move: authorities declare holidays at short notice and publish corrections of their own. Every record here shows what stands behind it, and when a date changes we correct it, publish it, and tell the people it affects.