By Is today a holiday in Ghana?
Today is not a public holiday in Ghana.
The next statutory public holiday is Farmers’ Day on Friday, December 4, 2026.
Ghana has 14 statutory public holidays in a year, counting the three Islamic feasts whose dates depend on the sighting of the moon. This page carries the official list from the Ministry of the Interior for 2026, with the dates the government has actually declared where a holiday fell on a weekend or in midweek, and the expected dates for 2027. We update it every time the Interior Minister issues a new notice.
Public holidays in Ghana 2026
| Holiday | Statutory date | Observed in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | January 1 | Thursday, January 1 |
| Constitution Day | January 7 | Friday, January 9 (moved from Wednesday) |
| Independence Day | March 6 | Friday, March 6 |
| Eid-ul-Fitr | End of Ramadan | Friday, March 20 |
| Shaqq Day | Day after Eid-ul-Fitr | Monday, March 23 (fell on Saturday, March 21) |
| Good Friday | Friday before Easter | Friday, April 3 |
| Easter Monday | Monday after Easter | Monday, April 6 |
| May Day (Workers’ Day) | May 1 | Friday, May 1 |
| Eid-ul-Adha | 10th of Dhul-Hijjah | Wednesday, May 27 |
| Republic Day | July 1 | Friday, July 3 (moved from Wednesday) |
| Founders’ Day | September 21 | Monday, September 21 |
| Farmers’ Day | First Friday of December | Friday, December 4 |
| Christmas Day | December 25 | Friday, December 25 |
| Boxing Day | December 26 | Monday, December 28 (falls on Saturday; the Ministry’s list gives December 28) |
African Union Day, Monday, May 25, is a commemorative day, not a public holiday. Offices and schools stay open.
So far this year the government has given workers three long weekends it did not have to: Constitution Day was shifted from the Wednesday to Friday, January 9, Shaqq Day was carried over from the Saturday to Monday, March 23, and Republic Day was moved from the Wednesday to Friday, July 3. Eid-ul-Adha, on the other hand, was observed on the Wednesday it fell.
What is left in 2026
Three holidays remain: Farmers’ Day on Friday, December 4, Christmas Day on Friday, December 25, and Boxing Day, which falls on Saturday, December 26 and is listed by the Ministry for Monday, December 28. That gives the country a four-day Christmas weekend, from Friday the 25th to Monday the 28th, with New Year’s Day following on Friday, January 1, 2027.
Public holidays in Ghana 2027 (expected)
The Ministry of the Interior publishes the official list at the start of each year, and the Islamic dates come from the Office of the National Chief Imam once the moon is sighted. The table below is what the law provides; dates in bold are the ones the President is likely to shift, going by the pattern of the last two years, and we will update them as each notice is issued.
| Holiday | Date in 2027 | Note |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Friday, January 1 | |
| Constitution Day | Thursday, January 7 | May be shifted to Friday, January 8 |
| Independence Day | Saturday, March 6 | Monday, March 8 likely to be declared |
| Eid-ul-Fitr | Around March 9 or 10 | Subject to moon sighting |
| Shaqq Day | Day after Eid-ul-Fitr | Subject to moon sighting |
| Good Friday | Friday, March 26 | |
| Easter Monday | Monday, March 29 | |
| May Day | Saturday, May 1 | Monday, May 3 likely to be declared |
| Eid-ul-Adha | Around May 16 or 17 | Subject to moon sighting |
| Republic Day | Thursday, July 1 | May be shifted to Friday, July 2 |
| Founders’ Day | Tuesday, September 21 | May be shifted to Monday, September 20 |
| Farmers’ Day | Friday, December 3 | |
| Christmas Day | Saturday, December 25 | Monday, December 27 likely to be declared |
| Boxing Day | Sunday, December 26 | Tuesday, December 28 likely to be declared |
How the holiday law changed in 2025
In June 2025, Parliament passed the Public Holidays and Commemorative Days (Amendment) Bill under a certificate of urgency, and it reshaped the calendar. Republic Day, July 1, which the previous government had reduced to a commemorative day, came back as a full public holiday. August 4, which had been Founders’ Day since 2019, marking the founding of the Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society in 1897 and the UGCC in 1947, was deleted, and Founders’ Day went back to September 21, the birthday of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Shaqq Day, the day after Eid-ul-Fitr, was added as a new statutory holiday so that Muslims get two days for the festival, as Christians do at Christmas and Easter. And the President was given the power, by Executive Instrument under Section 2 of the Act, to move any holiday that falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday to the preceding Monday or the following Friday, which is why 2026 has had so many long weekends.
Holidays that fall on a Saturday or Sunday are not automatically carried over by the law, but in practice the Ministry declares the following Monday, as it did for Shaqq Day this year and as its own list does for Boxing Day. Wait for the Ministry’s notice before you plan around it.
Is tomorrow a holiday in Ghana?
Check the box at the top of this page, which works out the answer from today’s date and the official list. The next holiday after today is shown there as well.
Is Africa Union Day a holiday in Ghana?
No. May 25 is a commemorative day on the Ministry’s list, which means it is marked but not a day off. The same goes for the other commemorative days in the year.
How many public holidays does Ghana have?
Fourteen statutory public holidays under the amended Act: New Year’s Day, Constitution Day, Independence Day, Eid-ul-Fitr, Shaqq Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, Eid-ul-Adha, Republic Day, Founders’ Day, Farmers’ Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Who announces the Eid holidays?
The Office of the National Chief Imam confirms the dates after the moon is sighted, and the Minister for the Interior then issues the notice declaring the public holiday, usually a week or so before the day.
Sources: Ministry of the Interior, Statutory Public Holidays and Commemorative Days in the Republic of Ghana for the Year 2026; Ministry of the Interior notices on Constitution Day (January 9), Eid-ul-Fitr and Shaqq Day (March 20 and 23), Eid-ul-Adha (May 27), Republic Day (July 3) and Founders’ Day (September 21), 2026, as reported by Graphic Online, Yen and 3News; Public Holidays and Commemorative Days (Amendment) Act, 2025. 2027 Islamic dates are astronomical estimates. Last updated Monday, October 19, 2026.
