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Public holidays in Cameroon

10 days in 2026 · 10 in 2027

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Next public holiday

Christmas Day

After it: New Year's Day, Friday 1 January

Friday, 25 December 2026

Cameroon has 10 public holidays with a day off in 2026 and the same 10 in 2027, the list fixed by Law No. 73/5 of 7 December 1973. The law sorts them into two kinds. Four are civil: New Year's Day, Youth Day on 11 February, Labour Day and National Day on 20 May. Six are religious, four from the Christian year and two from the Islamic one. Easter Monday is not on the list, so Easter brings Good Friday alone.

The two kinds are not treated alike. Rest is compulsory for every worker on a civil holiday, and when one falls on a Sunday the day after it counts as the holiday for work and pay. For a religious holiday on a Sunday the law only allows the President to declare the following day off by order.

The Muslim feasts, Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan and Tabaski, the Feast of the Sacrifice, follow the lunar calendar. Their dates are fixed each year by the National Lunar Crescent Commission (CNCL), which announced on 18 May 2026 that Tabaski would be kept on Wednesday 27 May.

Days off in 2026
10Nationwide public holidays
On a weekday
9Monday to Friday
On a weekend
1Saturday or Sunday
Long weekends
4and 2 with one day of leave

2026

Public holidays in Cameroon in 2026

  1. 1 January: New Year's Day1 January is also the day French Cameroun became independent in 1960. The 1973 law lists it as New Year's Day, Jour de l'an, and nothing more.Thursday
  2. 11 February: Youth DayThe plebiscite of 11 February 1961, in which the Southern Cameroons chose union with the Republic of Cameroon. The day is kept in honour of young people as well.Wednesday
  3. 20 March: Eid al-FitrThe end of Ramadan, named la fête de la fin de Ramadan in the 1973 law. Ramadan began on 18 February in 2026.FridayDate moves
  4. 3 April: Good FridayThe crucifixion, on the Friday before Easter. Easter Monday is not a holiday in Cameroon.FridayDate moves
  5. 1 May: Labour DayA civil holiday, so rest is compulsory for every worker. In 2027 it falls on a Saturday.Friday
  6. 14 May: Ascension DayThirty-nine days after Easter and so always a Thursday: 14 May in 2026, 6 May in 2027.ThursdayDate moves
  7. 20 May: National DayThe referendum of 20 May 1972 that replaced the federation of East and West Cameroon with a unitary state, the United Republic of Cameroon. Also called Unity Day.Wednesday
  8. 27 May: Eid al-AdhaTabaskiEid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, which the 1973 law calls la fête du Mouton (Djouldé alhedji). The CNCL sets its date from the start of the month of Dhu al-Hijja.WednesdayDate moves
  9. 15 August: Assumption DayThe Assumption of Mary, observed by the Roman Catholic community. It fell on a Saturday in 2026 and falls on a Sunday in 2027.Saturday
  10. 25 December: Christmas DayThe only Christmas day off; the law has no holiday on 26 December. In 2027 Christmas falls on a Saturday.Friday

Long weekends

Long weekends in Cameroon in 2026

Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.

  • 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanWith Fri 2 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day
  • 3daysFri 20 Mar to Sun 22 MarEid al-Fitr
  • 3daysFri 3 Apr to Sun 5 AprGood Friday
  • 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayLabour Day
  • 4daysThu 14 May to Sun 17 MayWith Fri 15 May taken as leave · Ascension Day
  • 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day

2027

Public holidays in Cameroon in 2027

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayFriday
  2. 11 February: Youth DayThursday
  3. 10 March: Eid al-FitrWednesdayDate moves
  4. 26 March: Good FridayFridayDate moves
  5. 1 May: Labour DaySaturday
  6. 6 May: Ascension DayThursdayDate moves
  7. 17 May: Eid al-AdhaTabaskiMondayDate moves
  8. 20 May: National DayThursday
  9. 15 August: Assumption DaySunday
  10. 25 December: Christmas DaySaturday

The holiday provider lists neither Muslim feast, and the two are added here from other sources. Eid al-Fitr on 20 March 2026 is the date on timeanddate's list and on the United States embassy's. For Tabaski the early lists disagreed, the embassy giving 26 May and officeholidays 28 May, until the CNCL fixed 27 May. The 2027 dates, Wednesday 10 March for Eid al-Fitr and Monday 17 May for Tabaski, are timeanddate's tentative ones and wait on the commission's announcements.

Assumption Day falls on Sunday 15 August 2027. As a religious holiday it brings a Monday off only if the President orders one. Timeanddate already lists Monday 16 August 2027 as Assumption observed, and that day is not counted here.

The 1973 law replaced Ordinance No. 72/15 of 16 September 1972. Besides the Sunday rule, it lets the President declare by order the day before or after a holiday that falls on a Tuesday or a Friday a holiday too. Anyone who works on a legal holiday is paid for the work done and an allowance of the same amount on top, and no overtime is allowed that day.

Common questions

Questions about public holidays in Cameroon

How many public holidays does Cameroon have?

Ten, in 2026 and again in 2027. Law No. 73/5 of 7 December 1973 lists four civil holidays and six religious ones, and every one of them is kept nationwide. In 2026 only Assumption Day, on Saturday 15 August, fell on a weekend. In 2027 three do: Labour Day and Christmas Day on a Saturday, and Assumption Day on a Sunday.

Is Easter Monday a holiday in Cameroon?

No. Among the Christian feasts the 1973 law names Good Friday, Ascension, the Assumption and Christmas, and leaves out Easter Monday and Whit Monday. Easter therefore gives a three-day weekend from Friday to Sunday, 3 to 5 April in 2026 and 26 to 28 March in 2027.

What happens when a holiday falls on a Sunday in Cameroon?

It depends on the kind of holiday. For the four civil ones the 1973 law makes the next day count as the holiday for working conditions and pay, so a 1 May or a 20 May on a Sunday brings the Monday off. For the six religious ones the decision is the President's, who may declare the following day off by order. No civil holiday lands on a Sunday in 2026 or 2027; Assumption Day on Sunday 15 August 2027 is the religious one that does.

When is Tabaski in Cameroon?

Tabaski fell on Wednesday 27 May 2026. On 18 May the National Lunar Crescent Commission announced that the day was the first of Dhu al-Hijja 1447, which put the Feast of the Sacrifice nine days later. The tentative date for 2027 is Monday 17 May, which would give a three-day weekend from Saturday 15 May, three days before National Day.

What does Youth Day on 11 February commemorate?

The plebiscite held under United Nations supervision in the British Cameroons on 11 February 1961. In the Southern Cameroons 70% of voters chose union with the Republic of Cameroon, which French Cameroun had become at independence on 1 January 1960, while 60% in the Northern Cameroons chose Nigeria. The Southern Cameroons joined on 1 October 1961. The holiday has since become a day for young people too, and in 2027 it falls on a Thursday.

Why is National Day on 20 May?

On 20 May 1972 a referendum approved a constitution that replaced the federation of 1961 with a unitary state, the United Republic of Cameroon, and gave the president more power. The date became National Day, also known as Unity Day. Separatist groups in the Anglophone regions have called lockdowns around it, and in May 2019 two opposition parties, the SDF and the MRC, boycotted its celebrations.

Is 1 October a public holiday in Cameroon?

No. On 1 October 1961 the Federal Republic of Cameroon was proclaimed and the Southern Cameroons joined it, but the 1973 law does not list the date, and the national day has been 20 May since 1972. In the English-speaking regions the date has another meaning: on 1 October 2017 an umbrella group of separatist movements declared the independence of Ambazonia, and separatists have marked the anniversary each year since.

What are the long weekends in Cameroon in 2027?

New Year's Day on a Friday opens the year with three days off, and Good Friday on 26 March gives another. If Tabaski is kept on Monday 17 May, it makes a third. May 2027 is the busy month: Ascension on Thursday 6 May and National Day on Thursday 20 May each leave a single Friday between holiday and weekend, and Youth Day on Thursday 11 February does the same in February.

Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-10-25. The page counts from Sunday, 25 October 2026, the day it was built.