Cape Verde Public Holidays
Discover upcoming public holiday dates for Cape Verde and start planning to make the most of your time off.
Cape Verde currently celebrates 11 national holidays, plus one additional national holiday that is celebrated by tradition and not national law. In addition to these 12 holidays, there are also two national holidays that are only celebrated on a specific island.
National holidays are regulated by government Decree 18/84 issued on the 18th of February 1984. This decree establishes the eleven national holidays celebrated in the country and provides the government with the authority to establish one-time national holidays each year.
One-time non-working holidays can be announced by any of the ministry departments of the government, just as long as the information is made in a public decree. The laws of Cape Verde prohibit holidays that occur on a Sunday from being moved to the following workday.
The Labour Code of Cape Verde is very strict about national holiday policies. All employees are to be granted a paid day off on all nationally recognised holidays. If an employee is required to work based on the type of work they perform, they must be compensated at a rate of double their hourly wage. Employment contracts cannot overrule this area of law.
As a tradition, Ash Wednesday is declared a one-time national holiday each year. In some areas, businesses are only required to provide the morning of Ash Wednesday off each year to allow attendance to church for a blessing. The government has not made Ash Wednesday an official holiday, but it has declared this date as a national holiday every year since this government came into power.