Public holidays in South Africa 2021
2021 had 13 public holidays and 7 long weekends. One was declared by the President: the local government elections on Monday 1 November. Human Rights Day and the Day of Goodwill fell on a Sunday, so Monday 22 March and Monday 27 December were public holidays too. Workers’ Day and Christmas Day fell on a Saturday and didn’t move.
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- 13Public holidays12 in the Act, 1 declared
- 11Weekdays offMonday to Friday
- 7Long weekendsThree days off or more
- 250Working daysWeekdays less holidays
Every public holiday in 2021
| Date | Public holiday |
|---|---|
| 1 JanuaryFriday | New Year’s DayLong weekend |
| 21 MarchSunday | Human Rights DayLong weekendFalls on a Sunday, so Monday 22 March is a public holiday. |
| 22 MarchMonday | Public holiday: Human Rights Day observedLong weekendHuman Rights Day falls on a Sunday, so the Monday is a public holiday. |
| 2 AprilFriday | Good FridayLong weekend |
| 5 AprilMonday | Family DayLong weekend |
| 27 AprilTuesday | Freedom Day |
| 1 MaySaturday | Workers’ DayFalls on a Saturday, so it doesn’t move. |
| 16 JuneWednesday | Youth Day |
| 9 AugustMonday | National Women’s DayLong weekend |
| 24 SeptemberFriday | Heritage DayLong weekend |
| 1 NovemberMonday | Local government electionsLong weekendDeclared by the President. The proclamation. |
| 16 DecemberThursday | Day of Reconciliation |
| 25 DecemberSaturday | Christmas DayLong weekendFalls on a Saturday, so it doesn’t move. |
| 26 DecemberSunday | Day of GoodwillLong weekendFalls on a Sunday, so Monday 27 December is a public holiday. |
| 27 DecemberMonday | Public holiday: Day of Goodwill observedLong weekendThe Day of Goodwill falls on a Sunday, so the Monday is a public holiday. |
Long weekends in 2021
- Friday 1 to Sunday 3 January3 days: New Year’s Day
- Saturday 20 to Monday 22 March3 days: Human Rights Day
- Friday 2 to Monday 5 April4 days: Good Friday and Family Day
- Saturday 7 to Monday 9 August3 days: National Women’s Day
- Friday 24 to Sunday 26 September3 days: Heritage Day
- Saturday 30 October to Monday 1 November3 days: Local government elections
- Saturday 25 to Monday 27 December3 days: Christmas Day and Day of Goodwill
One day of leave, four days off
- Take Monday 26 April off, before Freedom Day on Tuesday: off from Saturday 24 to Tuesday 27 April.
- Take Friday 17 December off, after the Day of Reconciliation on Thursday: off from Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 December.
2021 calendar
January 2021
| 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 2021
| 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 2021
| 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, Human Rights Day observed | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
April 2021
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2, Good Friday | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5, Family Day | 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 2021
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, Workers’ 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 |
June 2021
| 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 2021
| 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 2021
| 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 2021
| 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 2021
| 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 2021
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, Local government elections | 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 2021
| 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, Day of Goodwill observed | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Declared by the President
- Monday 1 November 2021: Local government elections. Election day. Source: Proclamation 38 of 2021, Government Gazette 45354, 22 October 2021.
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.
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.