Public holidays in South Africa 2027

There are 14 public holidays in 2027. 10 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 South Africa 2027

DateWeekdayHolidayCountdown
FridayNew Year's Day
SundayHuman Rights Day
MondayHuman Rights Day (observed)
FridayGood Friday
MondayFamily Day
TuesdayFreedom Day
SaturdayWorkers' Day
WednesdayYouth Day
MondayNational Women's Day
FridayHeritage Day
ThursdayDay of Reconciliation
SaturdayChristmas Day
SundayDay of Goodwill
MondayDay of Goodwill (observed)

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 2027

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

Take leaveOffDays of leaveDays offRatioOccasion
Tue 23 Mar, Wed 24 Mar, Thu 25 Mar20 Mar – 29 Mar 20273103.3Human Rights Day, Human Rights Day (observed), Good Friday, Family Day
Tue 30 Mar, Wed 31 Mar, Thu 1 Apr, Fri 2 Apr26 Mar – 4 Apr 20274102.5Good Friday, Family Day
Mon 26 Apr24 Apr – 27 Apr 2027144Freedom Day
Wed 28 Apr, Thu 29 Apr, Fri 30 Apr27 Apr – 2 May 2027362Freedom Day, Workers' Day
Mon 14 Jun, Tue 15 Jun12 Jun – 16 Jun 2027252.5Youth Day
Thu 17 Jun, Fri 18 Jun16 Jun – 20 Jun 2027252.5Youth Day
Tue 10 Aug, Wed 11 Aug, Thu 12 Aug, Fri 13 Aug7 Aug – 15 Aug 2027492.3National Women's Day
Mon 20 Sep, Tue 21 Sep, Wed 22 Sep, Thu 23 Sep18 Sep – 26 Sep 2027492.3Heritage Day
Mon 13 Dec, Tue 14 Dec, Wed 15 Dec11 Dec – 16 Dec 2027362Day of Reconciliation
Fri 17 Dec16 Dec – 19 Dec 2027144Day of Reconciliation
Tue 28 Dec, Wed 29 Dec, Thu 30 Dec, Fri 31 Dec25 Dec – 2 Jan 2028492.3Christmas Day, Day of Goodwill, Day of Goodwill (observed), 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 South Africa have in 2027?

14 public holidays. 4 of them fall on a weekend in 2027.

Which public holiday gives the best long weekend in 2027?

Freedom Day: take 1 day of leave (26 Apr) and you get 4 days off in a row, 24 Apr – 27 Apr 2027.

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