South Africans will enjoy 14 public holidays in 2023 – and the next one falls next week! Did anyone say ‘long weekend’?
By: Garrin Lambley
As reported by The South African website, Mzansi will have 14 public holidays in 2023 – which includes an additional two days off to celebrate public holidays which fall on Sundays.
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Two of those holidays have already passed: New Year’s day and the first of those ‘extra’ days, Monday, 2 January, to observe New Year’s day.
The Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) determines that whenever a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it shall be a public holiday.
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However, South Africans will ‘lose’ one public holiday next year as the Day of Reconciliation falls on Saturday, 16 December 2023.
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The next holiday – or day off work – to look forward to is Human Rights Day on Tuesday, 21 March.
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Public holidays in South Africa for 2023:
- Sunday, 1 January: New Year’s Day
- Monday, 2 January: Public holiday New Year’s Day observed
- Tuesday, 21 March: Human Rights Day
- Friday, 7 April: Good Friday
- Monday, 10 April: Family Day
- Thursday, 27 April: Freedom Day
- Monday, 1 May: Workers’ Day
- Friday, 16 June: Youth Day
- Wednesday, 9 August: National Women’s Day
- Sunday, 24 September: Heritage Day
- Monday, 25 September: Public holiday Heritage Day observed
- Saturday, 16 December: Day of Reconciliation
- Monday, 25 December: Christmas Day
- Tuesday, 26 December: Day of Goodwill
In a typical year, South Africa has 12 holidays, which is roughly the average when compared to other countries. The global average for public holidays is 11 days off.
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Workers in most European countries enjoy 10-14 public holidays a year. The United Kingdom, however, has only eight.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Myanmar has 30 holidays, while Sri Lanka, Iran, India, and China have 29, 27, 21, and 17, respectively.
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