Public Holidays

Discover upcoming public holiday dates for Malawi and start planning to make the most of your time off.

2026 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
1 Jan	Thu	New Year's Day
15 Jan	Thu	John Chilembwe Day
3 Mar	Tue	Martyrs' Day
20 Mar	Fri	Eid al-Fitr
3 Apr	Fri	Good Friday
6 Apr	Mon	Easter Monday
1 May	Fri	Labour Day
14 May	Thu	President Kamuzu Banda's Birthday
6 Jul	Mon	Independence Day
15 Oct	Thu	Mother's Day
25 Dec	Fri	Christmas Day
26 Dec	Sat	Boxing Day
28 Dec	Mon	Boxing Day Holiday
The dates in this table are an estimate. We will update this page once the official public holiday dates for 2026 are released.

2027 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
1 Jan	Fri	New Year's Day
15 Jan	Fri	John Chilembwe Day
3 Mar	Wed	Martyrs' Day
9 Mar	Tue	Eid al-Fitr
26 Mar	Fri	Good Friday
29 Mar	Mon	Easter Monday
1 May	Sat	Labour Day
3 May	Mon	Labour Day Holiday
14 May	Fri	President Kamuzu Banda's Birthday
6 Jul	Tue	Independence Day
15 Oct	Fri	Mother's Day
25 Dec	Sat	Christmas Day
26 Dec	Sun	Boxing Day
27 Dec	Mon	Christmas Holiday
28 Dec	Tue	Boxing Day Holiday
The dates in this table are an estimate. We will update this page once the official public holiday dates for 2027 are released.

2028 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
1 Jan	Sat	New Year's Day
15 Jan	Sat	John Chilembwe Day
26 Feb	Sat	Eid al-Fitr
3 Mar	Fri	Martyrs' Day
14 Apr	Fri	Good Friday
17 Apr	Mon	Easter Monday
1 May	Mon	Labour Day
14 May	Sun	President Kamuzu Banda's Birthday
6 Jul	Thu	Independence Day
15 Oct	Sun	Mother's Day
25 Dec	Mon	Christmas Day
26 Dec	Tue	Boxing Day
The dates in this table are an estimate. We will update this page once the official public holiday dates for 2028 are released.

The Republic of Malawi currently celebrates 13 national holidays. National holidays in Malawi are regulated by the Employment Act of 1999 and the Public Holidays Order of 1986.

Under these laws, all employees are entitled to a paid day off for all national holidays. Employees who must work on a public holiday based on the type of job they perform are entitled to receive a different paid day off in lieu of the holiday under these laws.

The national holiday laws provide the government of Malawi with the ability to establish additional one-time holidays based on current events during the year. It is not uncommon for the government to declare a national holiday for such events as national elections. The government has also been given the authority to “bridge” holidays to the following Monday if the holiday occurs on a Sunday.