South Africa will have 14 public holidays in 2023 – which includes an additional two days off to celebrate public holidays which fall on a Sunday.
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The first of those extra days off is next week, on Monday, 2 January 2023, to observe New Year’s day.
According to BusinessTech, 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.
Public holidays in 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 public holidays, which is roughly the average when compared to other countries. The global average for public holidays is 11 days off.
Workers in most European countries enjoy 10-14 public holidays a year. The UK, however, has only eight.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Myanmar has 30 public holidays, while Sri Lanka, Iran, India, and China have 29, 27, 21, and 17, respectively.
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