Public holidays in Benin 2026

There are 14 public holidays in 2026. 11 of them fall on a working day.

Download calendar file (.ics) For Outlook, Google Calendar and Apple Calendar; all-day events.

All 14 public holidays in Benin 2026

DateWeekdayHolidayLocal nameCountdown
ThursdayNew Year's DayFête du Nouvel An
ThursdayVodoun FestivalFête annuelle des religions traditionnelles
FridayVodoun FestivalFête annuelle des religions traditionnelles
FridayEid al-Fitr (estimated)Jour du Ramadan (estimé)
MondayEaster MondayLundi de Pâques
FridayLabor DayFête du Travail
ThursdayAscension DayJour de l'Ascension
MondayPentecost MondayLundi de Pentecôte
WednesdayEid al-Adha (estimated)Jour de la Tabaski (estimé)
SaturdayNational DayFête Nationale
SaturdayAssumption DayJour de l'Assomption
TuesdayProphet's Birthday (estimated)Journée Maouloud (estimé)
SundayAll Saints' DayLa Toussaint
FridayChristmas DayJour de Noël

Days marked "observed" are substitute days off when a holiday falls on a weekend. Holidays based on a lunar calendar can shift by a day once the official announcement is made.

Long weekends 2026

13 times a public holiday lies close to a weekend – with a little leave it becomes a long weekend:

Take leaveOffDays of leaveDays offRatioOccasion
Fri 2 Jan1 Jan – 4 Jan 2026144New Year's Day
Mon 5 Jan, Tue 6 Jan, Wed 7 Jan3 Jan – 11 Jan 2026393Vodoun Festival, Vodoun Festival
Mon 16 Mar, Tue 17 Mar, Wed 18 Mar, Thu 19 Mar14 Mar – 22 Mar 2026492.3Eid al-Fitr (estimated)
Tue 7 Apr, Wed 8 Apr, Thu 9 Apr, Fri 10 Apr4 Apr – 12 Apr 2026492.3Easter Monday
Mon 27 Apr, Tue 28 Apr, Wed 29 Apr, Thu 30 Apr25 Apr – 3 May 2026492.3Labor Day
Mon 11 May, Tue 12 May, Wed 13 May9 May – 14 May 2026362Ascension Day
Fri 15 May14 May – 17 May 2026144Ascension Day
Tue 26 May23 May – 27 May 2026155Pentecost Monday, Eid al-Adha (estimated)
Thu 28 May, Fri 29 May27 May – 31 May 2026252.5Eid al-Adha (estimated)
Mon 24 Aug22 Aug – 25 Aug 2026144Prophet's Birthday (estimated)
Wed 26 Aug, Thu 27 Aug, Fri 28 Aug25 Aug – 30 Aug 2026362Prophet's Birthday (estimated)
Mon 21 Dec, Tue 22 Dec, Wed 23 Dec, Thu 24 Dec19 Dec – 27 Dec 2026492.3Christmas Day
Mon 28 Dec, Tue 29 Dec, Wed 30 Dec, Thu 31 Dec25 Dec – 3 Jan 20274102.5Christmas Day, New Year's Day

Counted are gaps of up to four working days between a public holiday and the weekend or another public holiday. "Ratio" = days off per day of leave. Weekends follow the local working week.

Dates are generated from the open-source library python-holidays and automatically cross-checked against Nager.Date and the public Google Calendar holiday calendars; every holiday on a working day must be confirmed by a second source. Official announcements take precedence, especially for holidays that depend on the moon or are declared at short notice.

Frequently asked questions

How many public holidays does Benin have in 2026?

14 public holidays. 3 of them fall on a weekend in 2026.

What is the next public holiday in Benin?

As of 9 Nov 2026, the next holiday is Christmas Day on Friday, 25 Dec 2026.

Which public holiday gives the best long weekend in 2026?

Pentecost Monday, Eid al-Adha (estimated): take 1 day of leave (26 May) and you get 5 days off in a row, 23 May – 27 May 2026.

Embed on your website

Free, no sign-up: copy the code and paste it into your page (e.g. an HTML block). Feel free to adjust the size and the link.

Open previewColours, dark mode and more widgets

Sources

Last updated:

Other years

Related tools