Public holidays in Benin, 2028
Benin observes 14 nationwide public holidays in 2028. After weekends and those holidays are removed, the working year comes to 248 days.
Every public holiday in 2028
| Date | Day | Holiday | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 1 Jan | Saturday Weekend | New Year's Day | Nationwide |
| Mon, 10 Jan | Monday | Traditional Day | Nationwide |
| Sun, 16 Apr | Sunday Weekend | Easter Sunday | Nationwide |
| Mon, 17 Apr | Monday | Easter Monday | Nationwide |
| Mon, 1 May | Monday | Labour Day | Nationwide |
| Thu, 25 May | Thursday | Ascension Day | Nationwide |
| Mon, 5 Jun | Monday | Whit Monday | Nationwide |
| Tue, 1 Aug | Tuesday | Independence Day | Nationwide |
| Tue, 15 Aug | Tuesday | Assumption Day | Nationwide |
| Thu, 26 Oct | Thursday | Armed Forces Day | Nationwide |
| Wed, 1 Nov | Wednesday | All Saints' Day | Nationwide |
| Thu, 30 Nov | Thursday | National Day | Nationwide |
| Mon, 25 Dec | Monday | Christmas Day | Nationwide |
| Tue, 26 Dec | Tuesday | St. Stephen's Day Boxing Day |
Nationwide |
Working days month by month
| Month | Calendar days | Weekend | Holidays | Working days | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | 10 | 1 | 20 | 160 |
| February | 29 | 8 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| March | 31 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 184 |
| April | 30 | 10 | 1 | 19 | 152 |
| May | 31 | 8 | 2 | 21 | 168 |
| June | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| July | 31 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| August | 31 | 8 | 2 | 21 | 168 |
| September | 30 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| October | 31 | 9 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| November | 30 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 160 |
| December | 31 | 10 | 2 | 19 | 152 |
| Year | 366 | 106 | 12 | 248 | 1,984 |
Reading these figures
The working day count treats Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, which is the standard working week in Benin. 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.
2 of this year's public holidays fall on a weekend and therefore add no time away from work: New Year's Day (1 Jan), Easter Sunday (16 Apr). 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 23 days; the shortest is December at 19. That spread of 4 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 Q4, carrying 60 working days across October, November, December.
Compared with 2027, which held 254 working days, 2028 is 6 working days shorter. 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 2028, Benin'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 50.
The holidays produce 5 breaks of three consecutive non-working days or more. The longest runs 4 days, from 23 December 2028 to 26 December 2028, built around Christmas Day and St. Stephen's Day. A further 5 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.
4 of this year's holidays sit on a different calendar date than in 2027: Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, 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.