Public holidays in Belgium, 2026
Belgium observes 14 nationwide public holidays in 2026. After weekends and those holidays are removed, the working year comes to 251 days.
Every public holiday in 2026
| Date | Day | Holiday | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, 1 Jan | Thursday | New Year's Day Nieuwjaar |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 3 Apr | Friday | Good Friday Goede Vrijdag |
Nationwide |
| Sun, 5 Apr | Sunday Weekend | Easter Sunday Pasen |
Nationwide |
| Mon, 6 Apr | Monday | Easter Monday Paasmaandag |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 1 May | Friday | Labour Day Dag van de arbeid |
Nationwide |
| Thu, 14 May | Thursday | Ascension Day Onze Lieve Heer hemel |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 15 May | Friday | Day after Ascension Day | Nationwide |
| Mon, 25 May | Monday | Whit Monday Pinkstermaandag |
Nationwide |
| Tue, 21 Jul | Tuesday | Belgian National Day Nationale feestdag |
Nationwide |
| Sat, 15 Aug | Saturday Weekend | Assumption Day Onze Lieve Vrouw hemelvaart |
Nationwide |
| Sun, 1 Nov | Sunday Weekend | All Saints' Day Allerheiligen |
Nationwide |
| Wed, 11 Nov | Wednesday | Armistice Day Wapenstilstand |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 25 Dec | Friday | Christmas Day Kerstdag |
Nationwide |
| Sat, 26 Dec | Saturday Weekend | St. Stephen's Day Boxing Day |
Nationwide |
Working days month by month
| Month | Calendar days | Weekend | Holidays | Working days | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | 9 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| February | 28 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 160 |
| March | 31 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| April | 30 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 160 |
| May | 31 | 10 | 4 | 17 | 136 |
| June | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| July | 31 | 8 | 1 | 22 | 176 |
| August | 31 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| September | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| October | 31 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| November | 30 | 9 | 1 | 20 | 160 |
| December | 31 | 8 | 1 | 22 | 176 |
| Year | 365 | 104 | 10 | 251 | 2,008 |
Reading these figures
The working day count treats Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, which is the standard working week in Belgium. Only nationwide holidays are deducted; a date observed in one region alone still counts as a working day here, because a national figure that moved with regional calendars would describe nobody accurately.
4 of this year's public holidays fall on a weekend and therefore add no time away from work: Easter Sunday (5 Apr), Assumption Day (15 Aug), All Saints' Day (1 Nov), St. Stephen's Day (26 Dec). Whether these are compensated with a substitute day depends on national rules rather than on the calendar, so confirm before planning around them.
The longest working month is March at 22 days; the shortest is May at 17. That spread of 5 days matters for anything billed or accrued monthly, which is why payroll and capacity plans that assume an even year drift by the end of it. The thinnest quarter is Q2, carrying 59 working days across April, May, June.
Compared with 2025, which held 249 working days, 2026 is 2 working days longer. Where a target is carried over from one year to the next unchanged, that difference is absorbed silently unless someone accounts for it.
Against the 204 countries covered here for 2026, Belgium's 14 nationwide holidays put it above the median of 12, around the 75th percentile. The range across all countries this year runs from 3 to 49.
The holidays produce 5 breaks of three consecutive non-working days or more. The longest runs 4 days, from 3 April 2026 to 6 April 2026, built around Good Friday and Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. A further 2 working days are stranded between a holiday and a weekend, where one day of leave buys a break of four days or more. The full breakdown is here.
6 of this year's holidays sit on a different calendar date than in 2025: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Day after Ascension Day, Whit Monday. Dates that move cannot be carried forward from last year's planning spreadsheet, which is the most common way a holiday is missed.
Notes on Belgium
Belgium is one of the countries where a weekend collision does not cost the worker anything. When
a public holiday falls on a Sunday or on a day the employee does not normally work, the employer
must grant a replacement day, usually agreed within the company or set by the sector. The
practical effect is that the Belgian working year is far more stable from year to year than the
German or Italian one, and that the working day figures on this page are a maximum rather than
an exact count.
Belgium also has three community holidays, for the Flemish, French-speaking and German-speaking
communities. They are official, they are observed by the relevant regional public services, and
they are not general days off in the private sector. They are not counted here.