Public holidays in Papua New Guinea
11 days in 2026 · 11 in 2027
Back to Papua New GuineaNext public holiday
Christmas Day
After it: Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December
Friday, 25 December 2026
Papua New Guinea's gazette for 2026, as Business Advantage PNG lists it, names 12 public holidays, among them all four days of Easter from Good Friday to Easter Monday. Three of the days belong to no other country's calendar: a National Day of Repentance on 26 August, created in 2011 at the request of churches, a National Remembrance Day on 23 July for Papua New Guineans who died in military service, and a day on 26 February in memory of Sir Michael Somare, the first prime minister.
The King's Birthday is kept on 17 June itself, whatever the weekday, so it falls on Wednesday 17 June 2026 and Thursday 17 June 2027. Independence Day, 16 September, marks the end of Australian administration in 1975.
- Days off in 2026
- 11Not counting Easter Sunday, always a Sunday
- On a weekday
- 9Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 2Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 2and 3 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Papua New Guinea in 2026
- 1 January: New Year's DayThe first day of the civil year.Thursday
- 26 February: National Remembrance Day of Sir Michael SomareIn memory of Sir Michael Somare, chief minister from 1972 and the first prime minister at independence, who died on 25 February 2021. The 2026 gazette lists it as a public holiday, and qppstudio lists it again for Friday 26 February 2027.Thursday
- 3 April: Good FridayThe first of the four Easter days, which in Papua New Guinea run from Friday to Monday.FridayDate moves
- 4 April: Easter SaturdayListed in the 2026 gazette as a public holiday in its own right, though it falls on a Saturday.SaturdayDate moves
- 6 April: Easter MondayThe last of the four Easter days.MondayDate moves
- 17 June: King's BirthdayKept for the monarch's birthday on 17 June in both years on the government's business calendar, whatever the weekday.Wednesday
- 23 July: National Remembrance DayOn 23 July 1942 a small number of soldiers from the Papua New Guinea infantry battalion joined Allied forces in attacking a Japanese forward party at Awala, near Kokoda, the first time Papua New Guinean soldiers fought on their own soil. The day remembers those who have died in military service in both world wars and since.Thursday
- 26 August: National Day of RepentanceA day of Christian prayer, made a public holiday on 15 August 2011, only eleven days before it was first kept, at the request of a group of churches.Wednesday
- 16 September: Independence DayPapua New Guinea became independent of Australia on 16 September 1975, after self-government in December 1973.Wednesday
- 25 December: Christmas DayChristmas, in a country where 95.6% of people called themselves Christian at the 2011 census.Friday
- 26 December: Boxing DayThe day after Christmas, a public holiday in both years even though it falls on a Saturday in 2026 and a Sunday in 2027.Saturday
Long weekends
Long weekends in Papua New Guinea 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
- 4daysThu 26 Feb to Sun 1 MarWith Fri 27 Feb taken as leave · National Remembrance Day of Sir Michael Somare
- 4daysFri 3 Apr to Mon 6 AprGood Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Monday
- 4daysThu 23 Jul to Sun 26 JulWith Fri 24 Jul taken as leave · National Remembrance Day
- 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day, Boxing Day
2027
Public holidays in Papua New Guinea in 2027
- 1 January: New Year's DayFriday
- 26 February: National Remembrance Day of Sir Michael SomareFriday
- 26 March: Good FridayFridayDate moves
- 27 March: Easter SaturdaySaturdayDate moves
- 29 March: Easter MondayMondayDate moves
- 17 June: King's BirthdayThursday
- 23 July: National Remembrance DayFriday
- 26 August: National Day of RepentanceThursday
- 16 September: Independence DayThursday
- 25 December: Christmas DaySaturday
- 26 December: Boxing DaySunday
The lists on file do not agree in every detail. The business calendar of the Investment Promotion Authority, a government body, shows nine dates for each of 2026 and 2027 and leaves out Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and the Somare day, which the gazette list reported by Business Advantage PNG includes for 2026. The calendars above follow the gazette list for 2026 and qppstudio's list for 2027.
On 23 July the main ceremony is held at the Ela Beach Remembrance Memorial Park in Port Moresby, with a parade along Healy Parade by veterans, the Defence Force, the police and the correctional service, according to the national tourism authority.
qppstudio also lists four public service shutdown days from 28 to 31 December 2026, between Christmas and New Year. They apply to government offices only and are not in the calendars above.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Papua New Guinea
How many public holidays does Papua New Guinea have in 2026?
The 2026 gazette, as Business Advantage PNG reports it, lists 12: New Year's Day, the Somare remembrance day on 26 February, the four days of Easter, the King's Birthday, National Remembrance Day, the National Day of Repentance, Independence Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Easter Sunday falls on a Sunday and Boxing Day on Saturday 26 December 2026, so not all of them take a working day.
What does the National Day of Repentance mark?
A public holiday on 26 August set aside for Christian prayer for the nation. It was announced on 15 August 2011, just eleven days before the first one, at the request of a group of churches, and so little explanation was given that the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce had to show businesses the gazette to prove the day was a holiday. Churches across the country hold prayer services on it.
Why is 23 July National Remembrance Day?
On 23 July 1942 a small number of soldiers from the Papua New Guinea infantry battalion supported Allied forces in an attack on a Japanese forward party at Awala, in the Kokoda area, the first time Papua New Guinean soldiers fought in battle on their own soil. The day now honours all who served, in both world wars and in peacekeeping and law and order operations since.
Why is 26 February a holiday in Papua New Guinea?
It remembers Sir Michael Somare, the first prime minister, who led the country to independence in 1975 and died in Port Moresby on 25 February 2021. The gazette list for 2026 names it the National Remembrance Day of the late first prime minister, and it fell on Thursday 26 February 2026; qppstudio lists it again for Friday 26 February 2027.
Does Easter Saturday count as a public holiday in Papua New Guinea?
It does, according to the 2026 gazette list and to timeanddate, which both give all four days from Good Friday to Easter Monday. In 2026 that ran from Friday 3 April to Monday 6 April, and in 2027 it runs from Friday 26 March to Monday 29 March. The government's business calendar shows only Good Friday and Easter Monday.
On what date is the King's Birthday kept in Papua New Guinea?
On 17 June, the date itself, on the government business calendar for both years: Wednesday 17 June 2026 and Thursday 17 June 2027. Papua New Guinea keeps the British monarch as its head of state, represented by a governor-general, and marks the King's Birthday as a national day off.
On which date does Papua New Guinea mark its independence?
On 16 September, the day in 1975 on which the country became independent of Australia. It ended the Australian administration of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, which had governed itself since 1 December 1973. The holiday falls on Wednesday 16 September 2026 and Thursday 16 September 2027, and the fiftieth anniversary was marked in 2025.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-10-03. The page counts from Saturday, 3 October 2026, the day it was built.