South Africa · Pretoria
South Africa public holidays 2028
South Africa 2028 puts Youth Day on Friday 16 June, Heritage Day on Sunday 24 September with Monday 25 September added, and Christmas on Monday 25 December.
South Africa 2028 puts Youth Day on Friday 16 June, which is the cleanest mid-year long weekend on this page. Heritage Day is Sunday 24 September, and Monday 25 September appears as the added public holiday.
New Year’s Day is Saturday 1 January 2028. Human Rights Day is Tuesday 21 March. Freedom Day is Thursday 27 April. Workers’ Day is Monday 1 May. Those four dates do not form one continuous break; they are separate weekday losses.
National Women’s Day is Wednesday 9 August 2028 — a mid-week close with no Sunday substitute attached. Day of Reconciliation is Saturday 16 December. Christmas is Monday 25 December and Day of Goodwill is Tuesday 26 December.
Easter 2028 is Friday 14 April (Good Friday) through Monday 17 April (Family Day). That April close sits two weeks before Freedom Day on Thursday 27 April.
Compared with 2026, Freedom Day is no longer a Monday, and compared with 2027 there is no extra Monday 22 March after Human Rights Day. The 2028 Sunday-rule Monday is 25 September, after Heritage Day, not a March or December add-on.
If you are counting working days for a Q2 contract, subtract Good Friday, Family Day, Thursday Freedom Day, and Monday Workers’ Day as four separate weekday losses. Do not treat 27 April–1 May as one continuous public-holiday week; Friday 28 April 2028 is the ordinary weekday between Thursday Freedom Day and the weekend.
Africa Calendar remains my personal project. I am not affiliated with the Government of South Africa. Use the Act, not this page, when a date must be final.
What each public holiday is
New Year's Day
Saturday 1 January 2028 is New Year’s Day. It does not remove a January weekday under a Saturday–Sunday weekend.
Human Rights Day
Tuesday 21 March 2028 is Human Rights Day. A Tuesday Sharpeville commemoration is one weekday, with no Sunday substitute attached.
Good Friday
Friday 14 April 2028 is Good Friday. Family Day follows on Monday 17 April.
Family Day
Monday 17 April 2028 is Family Day. Easter 2028 is the mid-April four-day close.
Freedom Day
Thursday 27 April 2028 is Freedom Day, eleven days after Family Day. Thursday is a mid-week election anniversary.
Workers' Day
Monday 1 May 2028 is Workers’ Day. May begins with a Monday holiday.
Youth Day
Friday 16 June 2028 is Youth Day — the cleanest mid-year long weekend on the 2028 South African list.
National Women's Day
Wednesday 9 August 2028 is National Women’s Day. Mid-week, with no Sunday add-on.
Heritage Day
Sunday 24 September 2028 is Heritage Day. Monday 25 September is the added public holiday under the Act.
Heritage Day (observed)
Sunday 24 September 2028 is Heritage Day. Monday 25 September is the added public holiday under the Act.
Day of Reconciliation
Saturday 16 December 2028 is Day of Reconciliation, already on the weekend.
Christmas Day
Monday 25 December 2028 is Christmas Day. The December close starts on a Monday.
Day of Goodwill
Tuesday 26 December 2028 is Day of Goodwill, the weekday after Monday Christmas.
Friday Youth Day and the 2028 Heritage Monday
2028’s two simplest long weekends are Friday 16 June (Youth Day) and the Heritage pair of Sunday 24 September plus Monday 25 September.
Fridays in 2028: Good Friday (Friday, 14 April 2028); Youth Day (Friday, 16 June 2028). Good Friday and Youth Day are the Friday anchors.
Mondays in 2028: Family Day (Monday, 17 April 2028); Workers' Day (Monday, 1 May 2028); Heritage Day (observed) (Monday, 25 September 2028); Christmas Day (Monday, 25 December 2028). Family Day, Workers’ Day, the Heritage add-on, and Christmas Day are the Monday anchors.
Freedom Day is Thursday 27 April 2028. National Women’s Day is Wednesday 9 August. Those mid-week commemorations do not attach to a weekend without leave.
New Year’s Day and Day of Reconciliation are Saturdays. They overlap the weekend and do not add Mondays.
A practical 2028 leave sketch that uses only dates on this list: take Thursday 13 April to attach to Good Friday, or take Tuesday 26 December if you want a longer Christmas close after Monday Christmas and Tuesday Day of Goodwill. I am not adding fictional bridge days to the holiday list itself.
Neither the leave planner nor the working-days calculator replaces payroll. They only apply South Africa’s weekend rule to the 2028 holiday list on this site.
Print a calendar or subscribe
Use /feeds/za-2028.ics or the studio export for South Africa 2028.
Monday 25 September 2028 is the Heritage Day add-on. Friday 16 June is Youth Day. Those two dates do more leave work than Thursday Freedom Day that year.
Open the South Africa 2028 studio to print a wall calendar as PDF, PNG, or SVG. To subscribe, add the South Africa 2028 ICS feed. The leave planner and working-days calculator use this same holiday list.