Public holidays in South Africa 2011
2011 had 14 public holidays and 5 long weekends. Two were declared by the President: the local government elections on Wednesday 18 May and a public holiday in lieu of Christmas Day on Tuesday 27 December. Workers’ Day fell on a Sunday, so Monday 2 May was a public holiday too. New Year’s Day and Heritage Day fell on a Saturday and didn’t move.
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- 14Public holidays12 in the Act, 2 declared
- 11Weekdays offMonday to Friday
- 5Long weekendsThree days off or more
- 249Working daysWeekdays less holidays
Every public holiday in 2011
| Date | Public holiday |
|---|---|
| 1 JanuarySaturday | New Year’s DayFalls on a Saturday, so it doesn’t move. |
| 21 MarchMonday | Human Rights DayLong weekend |
| 22 AprilFriday | Good FridayLong weekend |
| 25 AprilMonday | Family DayLong weekend |
| 27 AprilWednesday | Freedom Day |
| 1 MaySunday | Workers’ DayLong weekendFalls on a Sunday, so Monday 2 May is a public holiday. |
| 2 MayMonday | Public holiday: Workers’ Day observedLong weekendWorkers’ Day falls on a Sunday, so the Monday is a public holiday. |
| 18 MayWednesday | Local government electionsDeclared by the President. The proclamation. |
| 16 JuneThursday | Youth Day |
| 9 AugustTuesday | National Women’s Day |
| 24 SeptemberSaturday | Heritage DayFalls on a Saturday, so it doesn’t move. |
| 16 DecemberFriday | Day of ReconciliationLong weekend |
| 25 DecemberSunday | Christmas DayLong weekendFalls on a Sunday. The Monday is already the Day of Goodwill, so no day is added. |
| 26 DecemberMonday | Day of GoodwillLong weekend |
| 27 DecemberTuesday | Public holiday in lieu of Christmas DayLong weekendDeclared by the President. The proclamation. |
Long weekends in 2011
- Saturday 19 to Monday 21 March3 days: Human Rights Day
- Friday 22 to Monday 25 April4 days: Good Friday and Family Day
- Saturday 30 April to Monday 2 May3 days: Workers’ Day
- Friday 16 to Sunday 18 December3 days: Day of Reconciliation
- Saturday 24 to Tuesday 27 December4 days: Christmas Day, Day of Goodwill and Public holiday in lieu of Christmas Day
One day of leave, four days off
- Take Friday 17 June off, after Youth Day on Thursday: off from Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 June.
- Take Monday 8 August off, before National Women’s Day on Tuesday: off from Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 August.
2011 calendar
January 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, New Year’s Day | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 |
February 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 |
March 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21, Human Rights Day | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
April 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22, Good Friday | 23 | 24 |
| 25, Family Day | 26 | 27, Freedom Day | 28 | 29 | 30 |
May 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, Workers’ Day | ||||||
| 2, Workers’ Day observed | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18, Local government elections | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |
June 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16, Youth Day | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
July 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
August 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9, National Women’s Day | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
September 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24, Heritage Day | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
October 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 |
November 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 |
December 2011
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16, Day of Reconciliation | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25, Christmas Day |
| 26, Day of Goodwill | 27, Public holiday in lieu of Christmas Day | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Declared by the President
- Wednesday 18 May 2011: Local government elections. Election day. Source: Proclamation 27 of 2011, Government Gazette 34127, 16 March 2011.
- Tuesday 27 December 2011: Public holiday in lieu of Christmas Day. Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, and the Monday after was already the Day of Goodwill. Source: Proclamation 72 of 2011, Government Gazette 34881, 20 December 2011.
How the dates are set
South Africa has 12 public holidays, set by the Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994. Ten fall on the same date every year. Good Friday and Family Day move with Easter: they are the Friday before and the Monday after Easter Sunday.
The Sunday rule. When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday after it is a public holiday too (section 2(1) of the Act). A holiday on a Saturday doesn’t move.
The President can also declare any day a public holiday, by proclamation in the Government Gazette (section 2A). Election days are declared this way.
When Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, the Monday is already the Day of Goodwill, so the Sunday rule adds nothing. The President declared 27 December a public holiday instead in 2011, 2016 and 2022. In 2005 he didn’t, and 27 December 2005 was a normal working day.
Source: the Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994 (Schedule 1 and sections 2(1) and 2A) and the President’s proclamations in the Government Gazette, checked against the government’s published lists on 7 November 2026.