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Countries with the most long weekends in 2026
A good holiday is one that creates a long break. This ranking looks at the 40 countries with their own calendar on the site and counts, for 2026, how many nationwide holidays fall on a Monday or Friday, the guaranteed long weekends, plus the Tuesday and Thursday bridges. Colombia comes out on top.
Nationwide holidays landing on a Monday or Friday in 2026
| # | Country | Long weekends | Bridges (Tue/Thu) | Nationwide holidays | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombia | 16 | 3 | 19 | Día de los Reyes Magos (January 12) |
| 2 | South Korea | 10 | 4 | 18 | 설날 (February 16) |
| 3 | New Zealand | 10 | 1 | 11 | Day after New Year's Day (January 2) |
| 4 | Argentina | 9 | 6 | 16 | Carnaval (February 16) |
| 5 | Romania | 8 | 3 | 17 | Anul Nou (January 2) |
| 6 | Japan | 8 | 4 | 16 | 成人の日 (January 12) |
| 7 | Philippines | 7 | 7 | 18 | Biyernes Santo (April 3) |
| 8 | Czechia | 7 | 3 | 13 | Velký pátek (April 3) |
| 9 | Brazil | 7 | 3 | 12 | Sexta-feira Santa (April 3) |
| 10 | Ireland | 7 | 2 | 10 | Lá Fhéile Bríde (February 2) |
| 11 | United States | 7 | 2 | 10 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 19) |
| 12 | Chile | 6 | 4 | 16 | Viernes Santo (April 3) |
| 13 | Greece | 6 | 2 | 15 | Καθαρά Δευτέρα (February 23) |
| 14 | South Africa | 6 | 3 | 12 | Good Friday (April 3) |
| 15 | Sweden | 5 | 5 | 16 | Långfredagen (April 3) |
| 16 | Austria | 5 | 5 | 15 | Ostermontag (April 6) |
| 17 | Finland | 5 | 4 | 15 | Pitkäperjantai (April 3) |
| 18 | Russia | 5 | 2 | 13 | Новогодние каникулы (January 2) |
| 19 | Norway | 5 | 3 | 12 | Langfredag (April 3) |
| 20 | France | 5 | 3 | 11 | Lundi de Pâques (April 6) |
| 21 | Germany | 5 | 2 | 9 | Karfreitag (April 3) |
| 22 | Canada | 5 | 1 | 8 | Good Friday (April 3) |
| 23 | Indonesia | 5 | 2 | 8 | Wafat Isa Almasih (April 3) |
| 24 | Mexico | 5 | 1 | 7 | Día de la Constitución (February 2) |
| 25 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 6 | Australia Day (January 26) |
| 26 | United Kingdom | 5 | 0 | 5 | Good Friday (April 3) |
| 27 | Peru | 4 | 5 | 13 | Viernes Santo (April 3) |
| 28 | Portugal | 4 | 4 | 13 | Sexta-feira Santa (April 3) |
| 29 | Belgium | 4 | 3 | 11 | Paasmaandag (April 6) |
| 30 | Ukraine | 4 | 2 | 11 | День праці (May 1) |
| 31 | Denmark | 4 | 3 | 10 | Langfredag (April 3) |
| 32 | Spain | 4 | 3 | 10 | Viernes Santo (April 3) |
| 33 | Netherlands | 4 | 2 | 9 | Tweede Paasdag (April 6) |
| 34 | Poland | 3 | 4 | 14 | Drugi Dzień Wielkanocy (April 6) |
| 35 | Türkiye | 3 | 5 | 14 | Ramazan Bayramı 1. Gün (March 20) |
| 36 | Italy | 3 | 4 | 13 | Lunedì dell'Angelo (April 6) |
| 37 | China | 3 | 3 | 6 | 劳动节 (May 1) |
| 38 | Egypt | 1 | 3 | 7 | عيد العمال (May 1) |
| 39 | Switzerland | 1 | 2 | 4 | Weihnachten (December 25) |
| 40 | Vietnam | 1 | 2 | 4 | Ngày Quốc tế lao động (May 1) |
Why the holiday count misleads and the weekday matters
Having many holidays does not guarantee many long breaks: what makes a long weekend is the day of the week. In 2026, Colombia leads with 16 nationwide holidays landing on a Monday or Friday, followed by South Korea (10) and New Zealand (10). At the other end, Vietnam has 1, its calendar mostly stranded midweek or on the weekend.
The bridge column shows the hidden potential: each holiday on a Tuesday or Thursday becomes a four day break with a single bridged day. A fixed date holiday landing on Saturday or Sunday simply evaporates in most countries, while the United Kingdom and the United States shift some dates to Monday. Because movable dates (Easter, lunar calendars) shift every year, the same country climbs or drops on this list from one year to the next without changing a single law. Click any country to see its full year calendar, holiday by holiday.
Source: Nager.Date (MIT). Coverage: 40 countries with their own calendar page, year 2026. Only nationwide holidays are counted; regional and municipal dates vary and are left out.
More world rankings
Each ranking below comes from a different open dataset and leads to the per country or per topic detail pages.
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- Countries with the highest inflation ever
- Countries with the highest inflation now
- Cricket teams with the most wins
- Countries with the most lawyers per capita
- Countries with the most designation of origin products
Last updated: · Methodology and sources