Public holidays in Africa and the Middle East
The single most important fact about this group is that the major holidays are dated by the Hijri calendar, which is purely lunar and runs about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha therefore move backwards through the seasons and cannot be fixed to a Gregorian date in advance. In several countries the exact day is confirmed only when the new moon is sighted, sometimes the evening before.
The single most important fact about this group is that the major holidays are dated by the Hijri calendar, which is purely lunar and runs about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha therefore move backwards through the seasons and cannot be fixed to a Gregorian date in advance. In several countries the exact day is confirmed only when the new moon is sighted, sometimes the evening before.
The second is the working week. Israel's runs Sunday to Thursday. Several Gulf states moved from a Friday–Saturday weekend to Saturday–Sunday, and the UAE went to a Friday half-day with a Saturday–Sunday weekend in 2022, so older guidance is out of date.
How many public holidays each country has in 2026
The 18 countries in Africa and the Middle East hold between 8 and 17 nationwide public holidays in 2026. The median for the group is 13, exactly the median across all 100 countries we track. Morocco and Tanzania share the most at 17; Qatar has the fewest at 8.
Across every one of the 18 countries in the group, 92 named holidays are set by a calendar other than the Gregorian one. We can tell because they land on a different day in 2027: Egypt has the most, at 10. A further 66 dates in 11 of these countries follow the Islamic calendar and are marked estimated, because the official day is confirmed only when the new moon is sighted and can move by one either way.
Nationwide public holidays in 2026, ranked. “On a weekday” counts those falling Monday to Friday. “Holidays that move” counts named holidays that fall on a different day in 2027 because another calendar sets them; a festival running several days counts once. Each row links the country's holiday page, its guide and the five cities we cover.
What makes dates here hard to publish in advance
The Hijri calendar is lunar. A Hijri year is roughly 354 days, so Islamic holidays fall about eleven days earlier each Gregorian year and cycle through all four seasons over roughly 33 years. There is no leap-month correction, unlike the Hebrew or Chinese calendars.
Moon sighting means the date is confirmed late. Saudi Arabia, and countries that follow its announcement, confirm the start of the month by observation. Others use astronomical calculation and publish in advance. The result is that the same Eid can be observed on different days in neighbouring countries, and that any dataset publishing an exact Eid date months ahead is giving a prediction, not a fact.
Ethiopia and Egypt keep other calendars too. Coptic Christmas falls in January rather than December. Ethiopia's calendar runs several years behind the Gregorian one, though Ethiopia is not among the countries we currently cover.
South Africa substitutes. The Public Holidays Act makes the following Monday a public holiday whenever a listed holiday falls on a Sunday — one of the clearest substitution rules anywhere.
The working week varies. Israel works Sunday to Thursday. Most Gulf states now use a Saturday–Sunday weekend, the UAE with a shortened Friday. If you are scheduling into this region, the weekend matters as much as the holiday calendar.
Common follow-up questions
Why do Eid dates change every year?
Because they are set by the Hijri calendar, which is purely lunar. A Hijri year is about eleven days shorter than a Gregorian one and there is no leap month, so Islamic holidays move steadily earlier through the Gregorian year and complete a full cycle of the seasons in roughly 33 years.
Can Eid dates be known in advance?
They can be calculated astronomically, and many countries publish calculated dates. But where the month begins on confirmed sighting of the new moon, the official date is announced only a day or so ahead and can differ from the calculated one and between neighbouring countries.
What days are the weekend in the Gulf?
Most Gulf states now use Saturday and Sunday. The UAE moved to a Saturday-Sunday weekend with a half-day Friday in 2022. Israel's working week runs Sunday to Thursday.