Public holidays in Ethiopia, 2026
Ethiopia observes 10 nationwide public holidays in 2026. After weekends and those holidays are removed, the working year comes to 253 days.
Every public holiday in 2026
| Date | Day | Holiday | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, 7 Jan | Wednesday | Christmas Day (Orthodox) ልደተ-ለእግዚእነ/ ገና |
Nationwide |
| Mon, 19 Jan | Monday | Epiphany (Orthodox) ნათლისღება |
Nationwide |
| Mon, 2 Mar | Monday | Adwa Victory Day የዓድዋ ድል በዓል |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 10 Apr | Friday | Good Friday ስቅለት |
Nationwide |
| Sun, 12 Apr | Sunday Weekend | Easter Sunday ብርሃነ-ትንሣኤ/ፋሲካ |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 1 May | Friday | International Workers' Day ዓለም አቀፍ የሠራተኞች ቀን |
Nationwide |
| Tue, 5 May | Tuesday | Ethiopian Patriots' Victory Day የአርበኞች ቀን |
Nationwide |
| Thu, 28 May | Thursday | Downfall of the Derg ደርግ የወደቀበት ቀን |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 11 Sep | Friday | Enkutatash እንቁጣጣሽ/የዘመን መለወጫ/አዲስ አመት |
Nationwide |
| Sun, 27 Sep | Sunday Weekend | Meskel (Orthodox) መስቀል |
Nationwide |
Working days month by month
| Month | Calendar days | Weekend | Holidays | Working days | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | 9 | 2 | 20 | 160 |
| February | 28 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 160 |
| March | 31 | 9 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| April | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| May | 31 | 10 | 3 | 18 | 144 |
| June | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| July | 31 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 184 |
| August | 31 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| September | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| October | 31 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| November | 30 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| December | 31 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 184 |
| Year | 365 | 104 | 8 | 253 | 2,024 |
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.
2 of this year's public holidays fall on a weekend and therefore add no time away from work: Easter Sunday (12 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 18. 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 Q1, carrying 61 working days across January, February, March.
Compared with 2025, which held 255 working days, 2026 is 2 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 2026, 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 49.
The holidays produce 5 breaks of three consecutive non-working days or more. The longest runs 3 days, from 17 January 2026 to 19 January 2026, built around Epiphany (Orthodox). 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.
2 of this year's holidays sit on a different calendar date than in 2025: Good Friday, Easter Sunday. Dates that move cannot be carried forward from last year's planning spreadsheet, which is the most common way a holiday is missed.