South Africa will have one less public holiday in 2025

South Africans will enjoy one fewer public holiday next year than in 2024. However, the country still has more public holidays than many of its counterparts.

South Africa has twelve public holidays, starting with New Year’s Day on 1 January and ending with Boxing Day on 26 December.

The country also celebrates the usual public holidays, such as Easter, Christmas on 25 December, and International Workers’ Day on 1 May.

The dates on which Good Friday and Easter Sunday fall are determined according to the ecclesiastical moon.

“The exact date varies each year, but they fall between late March and late April,” the government website explains.

Then, there are country-specific public holidays, including Freedom Day, Human Rights Day, Heritage Day, Day of Reconciliation, Youth Day, Family Day, and National Woman’s Day.

This year, because there were general elections, South Africa enjoyed an additional public holiday on 29 May 2024 to vote.

Although South Africa officially has twelve public holidays, the number of days people will get off work depends on which day of the week the public holiday falls.

When a public holiday falls on a weekday, between Monday and Friday, it is automatically a holiday for workers. However, weekends are treated differently.

The Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) determines that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will also be a public holiday.

However, if the public holiday falls on a Saturday, people will have no day off work. Hence, it essentially falls away for most workers.

In 2025, National Women’s Day, 9 August 2025, will be on a Saturday, which means that it will not be observed.

Freedom Day, typically celebrated on 27 April, falls on a Sunday in 2025, so 28 April will also be a public holiday next year.

Simply put, South Africans will enjoy 11 weekdays off work next year because of the Public Holidays Act, one fewer than in 2024.

The table below shows the public holidays which will be observed in South Africa in 2025.

South Africa’s public holidays versus other countries

South Africa’s 12 public holidays, which include the benefit of having an additional public holiday if one falls on a Sunday, compares favourably with other countries.

The United States has ten public holidays. Like South Africa, it includes international holidays like New Year’s Day and Christmas, and country-specific public holidays.

The United Kingdom has only eight bank holidays, and apart from the international public holidays, it has only three public holidays: Early May, Spring, and Summer.

In the UK, if a bank holiday is on a weekend, a ‘substitute’ weekday becomes a bank holiday, normally the following Monday.

The table below provides an overview of the official public holidays in South Africa versus prominent economies around the world.

It should be noted that many countries have a set number of public holidays, but there may be additional public holidays for states or provinces.

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