Public holidays in Iceland, 2026
Iceland observes 16 nationwide public holidays in 2026. After weekends and those holidays are removed, the working year comes to 248 days.
Every public holiday in 2026
| Date | Day | Holiday | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, 1 Jan | Thursday | New Year's Day Nýársdagur |
Nationwide |
| Thu, 2 Apr | Thursday | Maundy Thursday Skírdagur |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 3 Apr | Friday | Good Friday Föstudagurinn langi |
Nationwide |
| Sun, 5 Apr | Sunday Weekend | Easter Sunday Páskadagur |
Nationwide |
| Mon, 6 Apr | Monday | Easter Monday Annar í páskum |
Nationwide |
| Thu, 23 Apr | Thursday | First Day of Summer Sumardagurinn fyrsti |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 1 May | Friday | May Day Verkalýðsdagurinn |
Nationwide |
| Thu, 14 May | Thursday | Ascension Day Uppstigningardagur |
Nationwide |
| Sun, 24 May | Sunday Weekend | Pentecost Hvítasunnudagur |
Nationwide |
| Mon, 25 May | Monday | Whit Monday Annar í hvítasunnu |
Nationwide |
| Wed, 17 Jun | Wednesday | Icelandic National Day Þjóðhátíðardagurinn |
Nationwide |
| Mon, 3 Aug | Monday | Commerce Day Frídagur verslunarmanna |
Nationwide |
| Thu, 24 Dec | Thursday | Christmas Eve Aðfangadagur |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 25 Dec | Friday | Christmas Day Jóladagur |
Nationwide |
| Sat, 26 Dec | Saturday Weekend | St. Stephen's Day Annar í jólum |
Nationwide |
| Thu, 31 Dec | Thursday | New Year's Eve Gamlársdagur |
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 | 4 | 18 | 144 |
| May | 31 | 10 | 3 | 18 | 144 |
| June | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| July | 31 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 184 |
| August | 31 | 10 | 1 | 20 | 160 |
| September | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| October | 31 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| November | 30 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| December | 31 | 8 | 3 | 20 | 160 |
| Year | 365 | 104 | 13 | 248 | 1,984 |
Reading these figures
The working day count treats Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, which is the standard working week in Iceland. 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.
3 of this year's public holidays fall on a weekend and therefore add no time away from work: Easter Sunday (5 Apr), Pentecost (24 May), 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 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 Q2, carrying 57 working days across April, May, June.
Compared with 2025, which held 247 working days, 2026 is 1 working day 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, Iceland's 16 nationwide holidays put it above the median of 12, around the 88th 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 5 days, from 2 April 2026 to 6 April 2026, built around Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. 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.
9 of this year's holidays sit on a different calendar date than in 2025: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, First Day of Summer, Ascension Day and others. Dates that move cannot be carried forward from last year's planning spreadsheet, which is the most common way a holiday is missed.