Last updated: September 30, 2026
African public holidays 2027 will take your remote team offline on days when your US office is working, and the other way round. For a US company with staff in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana or South Africa, the busiest stretches are late March, when Eid al-Fitr and Easter fall close together, and the last week of December, when almost everyone is off.
This guide lists every 2027 public holiday in those four countries alongside US federal holidays, flags the dates that are still tentative, and covers the two national elections that may affect work in 2027. Use it to plan coverage, deadlines and payroll for the year ahead.
Dates marked (T) are tentative. Islamic holidays depend on the sighting of the moon and are usually confirmed a day or two in advance. Nigeria and Ghana also confirm replacement days for weekend holidays by government announcement, often at short notice. We update this page as dates are confirmed.
The 2027 weeks to plan around African Public Holidays
- January 16 and February 6: Nigeria’s general elections. Both are Saturdays, but expect movement restrictions and possible disruption on and around those days.
- March 8 to 29: Ghana’s Independence Day, Eid al-Fitr, South Africa’s Human Rights Day, Good Friday and Easter Monday all fall in three weeks. Your US office works through all of them.
- May 1 to 17: Workers’ Day replacement days in Nigeria and Ghana, then Eid al-Adha.
- August 10: Kenya’s general election, expected to be a public holiday.
- December 24 to 31: the US observes Christmas on Friday, December 24, and New Year’s Day 2028 on Friday, December 31, while all four African countries take December 27 off and Nigeria and Ghana are also expected to take December 28. Plan for very little overlap that week.
2027 holiday calendar: US, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa
A tick means the office is closed for a public holiday that day. Weekend dates are included only when they matter for planning.
| Date (2027) | Holiday | US | Nigeria | Kenya | Ghana | S. Africa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Jan 1 | New Year’s Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thu, Jan 7 | Constitution Day | ✓ | ||||
| Sat, Jan 16 | Nigeria presidential and National Assembly elections (not a holiday) | Election | ||||
| Mon, Jan 18 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | ✓ | ||||
| Sat, Feb 6 | Nigeria governorship and state assembly elections (not a holiday) | Election | ||||
| Mon, Feb 15 | Washington’s Birthday (Presidents’ Day) | ✓ | ||||
| Mon, Mar 8 | Independence Day, observed (Mar 6 is a Saturday) | ✓ (T) | ||||
| Tue to Wed, Mar 9 to 10 | Eid al-Fitr (end of Ramadan) | ✓ both days (T) | ✓ one day (T) | ✓ one day (T) | ||
| Mon, Mar 22 | Human Rights Day, observed (Mar 21 is a Sunday) | ✓ | ||||
| Fri, Mar 26 | Good Friday | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Mon, Mar 29 | Easter Monday (Family Day in South Africa) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Tue, Apr 27 | Freedom Day | ✓ | ||||
| Sat, May 1 | Workers’ Day / Labour Day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Mon, May 3 | Workers’ Day, observed | ✓ (T) | ✓ (T) | |||
| Sun to Mon, May 16 to 17 | Eid al-Adha | ✓ Mon (T) | ✓ Mon (T) | ✓ Mon (T) | ||
| Sat, May 29 | Presidential inauguration | (T) | ||||
| Mon, May 31 | Memorial Day | ✓ | ||||
| Tue, Jun 1 | Madaraka Day | ✓ | ||||
| Mon, Jun 14 | Democracy Day, observed (Jun 12 is a Saturday) | ✓ (T) | ||||
| Wed, Jun 16 | Youth Day | ✓ | ||||
| Fri, Jun 18 | Juneteenth, observed (Jun 19 is a Saturday) | ✓ | ||||
| Thu, Jul 1 | Republic Day | ✓ | ||||
| Mon, Jul 5 | Independence Day, observed (Jul 4 is a Sunday) | ✓ | ||||
| Mon, Aug 9 | National Women’s Day | ✓ | ||||
| Tue, Aug 10 | Kenya general election | ✓ (T) | ||||
| Sat to Mon, Aug 14 to 16 | Mawlid (Prophet’s Birthday) | ✓ (T) | ||||
| Mon, Sep 6 | Labor Day | ✓ | ||||
| Tue, Sep 21 | Founders’ Day | ✓ | ||||
| Fri, Sep 24 | Heritage Day | ✓ | ||||
| Fri, Oct 1 | Independence Day | ✓ | ||||
| Mon, Oct 11 | Columbus Day (US); Mazingira Day, observed (Kenya, Oct 10 is a Sunday) | ✓ | ✓ (T) | |||
| Wed, Oct 20 | Mashujaa Day | ✓ | ||||
| Thu, Nov 11 | Veterans Day | ✓ | ||||
| Thu, Nov 25 | Thanksgiving | ✓ | ||||
| Fri, Dec 3 | Farmers’ Day | ✓ | ||||
| Mon, Dec 13 | Jamhuri Day, observed (Dec 12 is a Sunday) | ✓ | ||||
| Thu, Dec 16 | Day of Reconciliation | ✓ | ||||
| Fri, Dec 24 | Christmas Day, observed (US) | ✓ | ||||
| Mon, Dec 27 | Christmas and Boxing Day replacement days (Dec 25 to 26 fall on a weekend) | ✓ (T) | ✓ | ✓ (T) | ✓ | |
| Tue, Dec 28 | Second replacement day | ✓ (T) | ✓ (T) | |||
| Fri, Dec 31 | New Year’s Day 2028, observed (Jan 1, 2028 is a Saturday) | ✓ |
US dates are federal holidays as observed by federal employees, per the US Office of Personnel Management. Private US employers choose which holidays they observe.
Nigeria public holidays 2027
Nigeria’s public holidays in 2027 include New Year’s Day, Eid al-Fitr, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Workers’ Day, Eid al-Adha, Democracy Day, Mawlid, Independence Day, Christmas and Boxing Day. Several fall on weekends in 2027, so expect the Federal Government to announce replacement weekdays, usually through the Ministry of Interior and often only a few days in advance. In 2027 that is likely to include May 3, June 14 and December 27 to 28.
Islamic holidays are confirmed after the moon is sighted, so Eid dates can move by a day. Build a little slack into March and May deadlines rather than planning around an exact date.
Nigeria’s 2027 elections
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for Saturday, January 16, 2027, and the governorship and state assembly elections for Saturday, February 6, 2027, under a revised timetable published in February 2026, as reported by Channels TV.
Election days are not public holidays, but restrictions on movement usually apply on election day, and some staff travel to where they are registered to vote. For planning:
- Avoid scheduling launches or hard deadlines for the Friday before and the Monday after each election.
- Ask your team whether anyone needs time to travel to vote, and plan cover early.
- Make sure anyone on shift has backup power and connectivity, in case of disruption.
If a new president is sworn in on May 29, 2027, the Federal Government may declare it a public holiday, as it did in 2023. It falls on a Saturday in 2027, so a replacement day is possible.
Kenya public holidays 2027
Kenya’s public holidays in 2027 include New Year’s Day, Eid al-Fitr, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Madaraka Day, Mazingira Day, Mashujaa Day, Jamhuri Day, Christmas and Boxing Day. Eid al-Adha is usually declared a holiday each year by gazette notice. When a Kenyan holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a holiday, which in 2027 gives your Kenyan team October 11, December 13 and December 27 off.
Kenya holds a general election on Tuesday, August 10, 2027, the second Tuesday in August as set by its constitution. Election day has been declared a public holiday in past elections, so plan for your Kenyan team to be off that day, and keep critical work light in the days around it.
Ghana public holidays 2027
Ghana’s public holidays changed in 2025. Parliament restored July 1 (Republic Day) as a public holiday, moved Founders’ Day back to September 21, and removed August 4 from the holiday list, according to MyJoyOnline’s report on the change. If your holiday calendar for Ghana was set up before mid-2025, check it against the table above.
Ghana’s holidays for 2027 are New Year’s Day, Constitution Day (January 7), Independence Day, Eid al-Fitr, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, Eid al-Adha, Republic Day, Founders’ Day, Farmers’ Day (the first Friday in December), Christmas and Boxing Day. When a holiday falls on a weekend, the following Monday is usually declared a holiday, apart from Farmers’ Day, which is always a Friday.
South Africa public holidays 2027
South Africa’s public holidays in 2027 are New Year’s Day, Human Rights Day, Good Friday, Family Day, Freedom Day, Workers’ Day, Youth Day, National Women’s Day, Heritage Day, Day of Reconciliation, Christmas and the Day of Goodwill. Under the Public Holidays Act, a holiday that falls on a Sunday moves to the Monday, but one that falls on a Saturday does not move. So in 2027, March 22 and December 27 are holidays, while Workers’ Day on Saturday, May 1 is not replaced. The South African government publishes the official list.
US holidays when your African team is working
None of the four countries observes most US federal holidays. In 2027, your team in Africa will normally be working on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, the observed Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and the observed Christmas Day on December 24.
That can work in your favour. Those are good days for your African team to:
- cover customer support or inbound enquiries while your US office is closed
- clear backlogs, such as tickets, data clean-up or AR follow-up, without meeting interruptions
- take on focused project work that needs long uninterrupted blocks
Agree in advance what they should work on, and who they escalate to if something urgent comes up, since their usual US contacts will be offline. If your team works US hours, as many sales and support teams do, our guide to hiring offshore SDRs explains how shifts map to US time zones.
A holiday planning checklist for US managers
- Add every country’s holidays to a shared team calendar now, marking tentative dates, and update them when governments confirm.
- Ask your team about the holidays they actually observe. A Muslim employee in Lagos and a Christian employee in Nairobi may take different days off around Eid and Easter.
- Set a cover plan for the two busy periods: March 8 to 29 and December 24 to 31.
- Move deadlines, not people. Avoid releases, audits and client deliverables on the days either side of long holiday weekends.
- Check pay rules before asking anyone to work a holiday. Employees are generally entitled to paid public holidays under local law, and working one usually means extra pay or a day off in lieu, depending on the country and the contract.
- Time payroll around holidays. Bank closures can delay salary payments at month end, especially in late December. Send payroll early when the payment date falls near a holiday.
Let an Employer of Record track holidays for you
If you employ staff in Africa through an Employer of Record (EOR), keeping up with local holidays is part of the service. Betternship’s Employer of Record in Africa runs local payroll, applies public holiday pay rules in each country, and times salary payments around bank closures, so your team is paid correctly and on time, whatever the government announces. For how employment works in Nigeria specifically, see our guide to hiring and paying employees in Nigeria.