United Arab Emirates Public Holidays 2026
The United Arab Emirates has 8 national public holidays in 2026, starting with New Year's Day on 1 January 2026 and ending with National Day (second day) on 3 December 2026. Five well placed days of leave buy 26 days away from work in 2026, because five holidays sit exactly one working day from a weekend.
| Holiday | Date | Weekday | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Dayرأس السنة الميلادية | Thursday | Public holiday | |
| Eid al-FitrIf Ramadan runs a thirtieth day the break shifts by one day, because the start is counted from the end of Ramadan and confirmed by moon sighting. | Wednesday | Public holiday4 days | |
| Arafah DayConfirmed by moon sighting, so it can move by one day. | Tuesday | Public holiday | |
| Feast of the Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha)عيد الأضØÙ‰ | Wednesday | Public holiday3 days | |
| Islamic New Yearرأس السنة الهجرية | Tuesday | Public holiday | |
| Birthday of Muhammad (Mawlid)المولد النبويّ | Tuesday | Public holiday | |
| National Dayاليوم الوطني | Wednesday | Public holiday | |
| National Day (second day)The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has in some years announced the two day block on 1 and 2 December instead, so confirm the pair each year. | Thursday | Public holiday |
- Status
- Set in lawThe calendar is set in standing law rather than announced year by year, so 2026 needs no separate publication.
- Last verified
- The newest check behind a United Arab Emirates entry, against the source named in the corrections log.
- Source
- date-holidays open dataset (ISC and CC BY 3.0), with 6 corrections applied to United Arab Emirates. See what we changed.Always confirm official dates with a local authority before booking travel. How these calendars are built. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will check it.
The busiest stretch is May (2 holidays), a good window to plan around if you rely on offices, banks or schools being open. None of them falls on a weekend in 2026, so every holiday adds a genuine weekday off. Below you will find the full 2026 list for the United Arab Emirates, sorted by date, with the weekday marked for quick planning. Only nationwide public holidays are included here, which keeps the United Arab Emirates calendar clean and comparable.
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does the United Arab Emirates have in 2026?
The United Arab Emirates has 8 national public holidays in 2026. The first is New Year's Day on 1 January 2026 and the last is National Day (second day) on 3 December 2026.
What is the first public holiday of 2026 in the United Arab Emirates?
The first public holiday of 2026 is New Year's Day, which falls on 1 January 2026.
When is New Year celebrated in the United Arab Emirates in 2026?
In 2026, New Year's Day in the United Arab Emirates is on 1 January 2026.
Are regional holidays included for the United Arab Emirates?
No. This calendar lists national public holidays only, so it stays consistent across countries. Holidays that apply to just part of the United Arab Emirates are listed separately on the United Arab Emirates holiday hub, together with the regions that observe them.
Do the United Arab Emirates holiday dates change from 2026 to the next year?
Some of them do. Five of the 8 holidays in 2026 sit on a moving rule (islamic (hijri) calendar), so their date has to be recalculated for every year. The rest keep the same calendar date and only change weekday. Moving ones this year include Eid al-Fitr on 18 March 2026, Arafah Day on 26 May 2026 and Feast of the Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha) on 27 May 2026, plus 2 more.
How far ahead is the United Arab Emirates calendar actually fixed?
Through 2027. The holidays are set in law rather than announced year by year, so the dates repeat predictably. What can still change is a law amendment, a one-off holiday declared for a national event, and the exact day of any holiday on the Islamic calendar, which is confirmed by moon sighting. This table also applies 6 corrections to the underlying open dataset, each checked against the legislation. The full list with sources is on the United Arab Emirates holiday hub.
Which United Arab Emirates holidays are regional, and which move?
The table above is the national calendar for 2026. Some holidays keep the same date every year while others are tied to Easter, to a lunar calendar or to a named weekday, and some parts of the country add their own days off. The United Arab Emirates holiday hub breaks that down: which holidays are fixed, which move and why, and which ones are observed in certain regions only. To compare United Arab Emirates with other countries in the same year, see the 2026 worldwide overview.
Other years for United Arab Emirates
Planning further ahead or looking back? Compare the United Arab Emirates public holiday calendar across years:
Plan around the United Arab Emirates 2026 calendar
Knowing the dates is half the question. The other half is what they add up to: which of them create a long weekend and how many working days the year leaves. The 2026 worldwide overview compares every country on holiday count and weekend overlap, and the country index ranks all 44 of them. The same figures are available as JSON, and the dates as a calendar file.