Public holidays in South Africa 2027
2027 has 12 public holidays and 6 long weekends. Human Rights Day and the Day of Goodwill fall on a Sunday, so Monday 22 March and Monday 27 December are public holidays too. Workers’ Day and Christmas Day fall on a Saturday and don’t move.
Share on WhatsAppSave the image
Add the public holidays to your calendar · the .ics file · every calendar feed
- 12Public holidaysAll set by the Act
- 10Weekdays offMonday to Friday
- 6Long weekendsThree days off or more
- 251Working daysWeekdays less holidays
Some lists of 2027’s holidays leave out Monday 27 December. It is a public holiday: the Day of Goodwill falls on a Sunday, and section 2(1) of the Act makes the Monday a holiday.
Every public holiday in 2027
| 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. |
| 26 MarchFriday | Good FridayLong weekend |
| 29 MarchMonday | 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 |
| 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 2027
- Friday 1 to Sunday 3 January3 days: New Year’s Day
- Saturday 20 to Monday 22 March3 days: Human Rights Day
- Friday 26 to Monday 29 March4 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 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.
2027 calendar
January
| 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
| 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
| 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, Good Friday | 27 | 28 |
| 29, Family Day | 30 | 31 |
April
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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 |
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.