Public holidays in Ethiopia, 2025
Ethiopia observes 10 nationwide public holidays in 2025. After weekends and those holidays are removed, the working year comes to 255 days.
Every public holiday in 2025
| Date | Day | Holiday | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, 7 Jan | Tuesday | Christmas Day (Orthodox) ልደተ-ለእግዚእነ/ ገና |
Nationwide |
| Sun, 19 Jan | Sunday Weekend | Epiphany (Orthodox) ნათლისღება |
Nationwide |
| Sun, 2 Mar | Sunday Weekend | Adwa Victory Day የዓድዋ ድል በዓል |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 18 Apr | Friday | Good Friday ስቅለት |
Nationwide |
| Sun, 20 Apr | Sunday Weekend | Easter Sunday ብርሃነ-ትንሣኤ/ፋሲካ |
Nationwide |
| Thu, 1 May | Thursday | International Workers' Day ዓለም አቀፍ የሠራተኞች ቀን |
Nationwide |
| Mon, 5 May | Monday | Ethiopian Patriots' Victory Day የአርበኞች ቀን |
Nationwide |
| Wed, 28 May | Wednesday | Downfall of the Derg ደርግ የወደቀበት ቀን |
Nationwide |
| Thu, 11 Sep | Thursday | Enkutatash እንቁጣጣሽ/የዘመን መለወጫ/አዲስ አመት |
Nationwide |
| Sat, 27 Sep | Saturday Weekend | Meskel (Orthodox) መስቀል |
Nationwide |
Working days month by month
| Month | Calendar days | Weekend | Holidays | Working days | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | 8 | 1 | 22 | 176 |
| February | 28 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 160 |
| March | 31 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| April | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| May | 31 | 9 | 3 | 19 | 152 |
| June | 30 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| July | 31 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 184 |
| August | 31 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| September | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| October | 31 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 184 |
| November | 30 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 160 |
| December | 31 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 184 |
| Year | 365 | 104 | 6 | 255 | 2,040 |
Reading these figures
The working day count treats Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, which is the standard working week in Ethiopia. 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: Epiphany (Orthodox) (19 Jan), Adwa Victory Day (2 Mar), Easter Sunday (20 Apr), Meskel (Orthodox) (27 Sep). 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 July at 23 days; the shortest is May 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 Q2, carrying 61 working days across April, May, June.
Against the 204 countries covered here for 2025, Ethiopia's 10 nationwide holidays put it below the median of 12, around the 25th percentile. The range across all countries this year runs from 3 to 48.
The holidays produce 2 breaks of three consecutive non-working days or more. The longest runs 3 days, from 18 April 2025 to 20 April 2025, built around Good Friday and Easter Sunday. A further 3 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.