Public holidays in São Tomé and Príncipe, 2026
São Tomé and Príncipe observes 8 nationwide public holidays in 2026. After weekends and those holidays are removed, the working year comes to 255 days.
Every public holiday in 2026
| Date | Day | Holiday | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, 1 Jan | Thursday | New Year's Day Ano Novo |
Nationwide |
| Tue, 3 Feb | Tuesday | Martyrs' Day Dia dos Mártires |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 1 May | Friday | Labour Day Dia do trabalhador |
Nationwide |
| Sun, 12 Jul | Sunday Weekend | Independence Day Dia da Independência |
Nationwide |
| Sun, 6 Sep | Sunday Weekend | Armed Forces Day Dia das Forças Armadas |
Nationwide |
| Wed, 30 Sep | Wednesday | Agricultural Reform Day Dia da Reforma Agrária |
Nationwide |
| Mon, 21 Dec | Monday | São Tomé Day Dia de São Tomé |
Nationwide |
| Fri, 25 Dec | Friday | Christmas Day Natal |
Nationwide |
Working days month by month
| Month | Calendar days | Weekend | Holidays | Working days | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | 9 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| February | 28 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 152 |
| March | 31 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| April | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| May | 31 | 10 | 1 | 20 | 160 |
| 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 | 2 | 21 | 168 |
| 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 São Tomé and Príncipe. 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: Independence Day (12 Jul), Armed Forces Day (6 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 February 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 Q1, carrying 62 working days across January, February, March.
Compared with 2025, which held 256 working days, 2026 is 1 working day 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, São Tomé and Príncipe's 8 nationwide holidays put it below the median of 12, around the 12th percentile. The range across all countries this year runs from 3 to 49.
The holidays produce 3 breaks of three consecutive non-working days or more. The longest runs 3 days, from 1 May 2026 to 3 May 2026, built around Labour Day. 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.