Public holidays in Namibia, 2027
Namibia observes 13 nationwide public holidays in 2027. After weekends and those holidays are removed, the working year comes to 252 days.
Every public holiday in 2027
| Date | Day | Holiday | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, 1 Jan | Friday | New Year's Day | Nationwide |
| Sun, 21 Mar | Sunday Weekend | Independence Day | Nationwide |
| Fri, 26 Mar | Friday | Good Friday | Nationwide |
| Mon, 29 Mar | Monday | Easter Monday | Nationwide |
| Sat, 1 May | Saturday Weekend | Workers' Day | Nationwide |
| Tue, 4 May | Tuesday | Cassinga Day | Nationwide |
| Thu, 6 May | Thursday | Ascension Day | Nationwide |
| Tue, 25 May | Tuesday | Africa Day | Nationwide |
| Fri, 28 May | Friday | Genocide Remembrance Day | Nationwide |
| Thu, 26 Aug | Thursday | Heroes' Day | Nationwide |
| Fri, 10 Dec | Friday | Human Rights Day | Nationwide |
| Sat, 25 Dec | Saturday Weekend | Christmas Day | Nationwide |
| Sun, 26 Dec | Sunday Weekend | Day of Goodwill St. Stephen's Day |
Nationwide |
Working days month by month
| Month | Calendar days | Weekend | Holidays | Working days | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | 10 | 1 | 20 | 160 |
| February | 28 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 160 |
| March | 31 | 8 | 2 | 21 | 168 |
| April | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| May | 31 | 10 | 4 | 17 | 136 |
| June | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| July | 31 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| August | 31 | 9 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| September | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| October | 31 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| November | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| December | 31 | 8 | 1 | 22 | 176 |
| Year | 365 | 104 | 9 | 252 | 2,016 |
Reading these figures
The working day count treats Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, which is the standard working week in Namibia. 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: Independence Day (21 Mar), Workers' Day (1 May), Christmas Day (25 Dec), Day of Goodwill (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 April 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 Q1, carrying 61 working days across January, February, March.
Compared with 2026, which held 250 working days, 2027 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 2027, Namibia's 13 nationwide holidays put it above the median of 12, around the 65th percentile. The range across all countries this year runs from 3 to 49.
The holidays produce 4 breaks of three consecutive non-working days or more. The longest runs 4 days, from 26 March 2027 to 29 March 2027, built around Good Friday and Easter Monday. 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.
3 of this year's holidays sit on a different calendar date than in 2026: Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day. Dates that move cannot be carried forward from last year's planning spreadsheet, which is the most common way a holiday is missed.