Public holidays in South Africa 2016
2016 had 14 public holidays and 6 long weekends. Two were declared by the President: the local government elections on Wednesday 3 August 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. Heritage Day fell on a Saturday and didn’t move.
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- 14Public holidays12 in the Act, 2 declared
- 12Weekdays offMonday to Friday
- 6Long weekendsThree days off or more
- 249Working daysWeekdays less holidays
Every public holiday in 2016
| Date | Public holiday |
|---|---|
| 1 JanuaryFriday | New Year’s DayLong weekend |
| 21 MarchMonday | Human Rights DayLong weekend |
| 25 MarchFriday | Good FridayLong weekend |
| 28 MarchMonday | 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. |
| 16 JuneThursday | Youth Day |
| 3 AugustWednesday | Local government electionsDeclared by the President. The proclamation. |
| 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 2016
- Friday 1 to Sunday 3 January3 days: New Year’s Day
- Saturday 19 to Monday 21 March3 days: Human Rights Day
- Friday 25 to Monday 28 March4 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.
2016 calendar
January 2016
| 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 2016
| 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 |
March 2016
| 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, Good Friday | 26 | 27 |
| 28, Family Day | 29 | 30 | 31 |
April 2016
| 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, Freedom Day | 28 | 29 | 30 |
May 2016
| 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 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |
June 2016
| 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 2016
| 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 2016
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3, Local government elections | 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 2016
| 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 2016
| 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 2016
| 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 2016
| 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 3 August 2016: Local government elections. Election day. Source: Proclamation 45 of 2016, Government Gazette 40125, 8 July 2016.
- Tuesday 27 December 2016: 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 58 of 2016, Government Gazette 40346, 14 October 2016.
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.