United Arab Emirates public holidays
Official public holidays for the private and public sectors for calendar year 2026, unified under Cabinet Resolution No. (27) of 2024 concerning public holidays in the State. Fixed Gregorian holidays are certain; the Islamic (Hijri) holidays are movable, depend on moon-sighting, and are announced by the UAE Cabinet — the dates below are astronomical estimates and may shift by a day.
| Current value | 14 days held |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2026-01-01 |
| In force until | 2026-12-31 |
| Official source | u.ae (Official Platform of the UAE Government) — Public holidays, per Cabinet Resolution No. (27) of 2024: fixed holidays are Gregorian New Year (1 Jan), Commemoration Day (1 Dec) and National Day (2-3 Dec); Islamic holidays (Eid Al Fitr 4 days, Arafah Day + Eid Al Adha, Hijri New Year, Prophet's Birthday) follow the Hijri calendar and are set by moon-sighting |
| Last verified | 2026-07-24 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
The UAE unified its public- and private-sector holiday schedule under Cabinet Resolution No. (27) of 2024 (effective 1 Jan 2025). FIXED holidays are certain: New Year's Day 1 Jan (Thu in 2026); Commemoration Day 1 Dec (Tue); UAE National Day 2-3 Dec (Wed-Thu). ISLAMIC holidays are MOVABLE and DEPEND ON MOON-SIGHTING, officially announced each occasion by the UAE Cabinet — the Gregorian dates above are astronomical estimates that can shift +/- 1 day: Eid Al Fitr is defined as 29 Ramadan to 3 Shawwal (a 4-day block, est. 19-22 Mar 2026, actual Eid day 1 Shawwal ~20 Mar); Arafah Day (9 Dhu al-Hijjah, est. 26 May) plus Eid Al Adha (10-12 Dhu al-Hijjah, est. 27-29 May 2026); Hijri New Year (1 Muharram 1448, est. 16 Jun 2026); Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (12 Rabi al-Awwal 1448, est. 25 Aug 2026). Under Cabinet Resolution 27/2024 a public holiday is NOT transferred to another day if it falls on the weekend (Sat/Sun) or coincides with another holiday — so there are no substitute days. As of confirmation (24 Jul 2026) the Eid Al Fitr, Arafah/Eid Al Adha and Hijri New Year holidays for 2026 have already passed and were announced close to the actual moon-sighting; the estimates above matched the observed 2026 dates. The u.ae government portal and MoHRE publish the official announcements per occasion; treat the Islamic-holiday dates as indicative until the Cabinet's per-occasion decree confirms them.
Get it programmatically
curl https://mearef.dev/v1/ae/public-holidays
# Free.
# History: curl https://mearef.dev/v1/ae/public-holidays/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://mearef.dev/provenance/ae/public-holidaysOther United Arab Emirates series: policy interest rate · VAT rate · minimum wage · inflation rate (CPI) · corporate tax rate · income tax rates