Public holidays in Tanzania

Public holidays in Tanzania are in accordance with the Public Holidays Act, ^{[1] [2]} amended among others in December 1964, ^[3] August 1966, ^[4] July 2022, ^[5] and are observed throughout the nation.

Background

The President of Tanzania may declare additional holidays at his or her discretion, as stated in article 3 of the Public Holidays Act, ^{[1] [2]} for example, during the general election day. A recent example of this was on 4 November 2015 where President Kikwete announced a national holiday for the next day to celebrate Magufuli winning the presidential election. ^[6]

Karume day, Saba saba day and Nyerere day do not appear in the Public Holidays Act, ^{[1] [2]} and are declared by the President. This happens however traditionally every year. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}

General list

Date	English name (Names from the Public Holiday Act are in bold, if available)	Swahili name [11] [12]	Notes
1 January	New Year's Day	Mwaka mpya
12 January	Zanzibar Revolution Day	Sikukuu ya Mapinduzi ya Zanzibar	Zanzibar Revolution . End of the Sultanate of Zanzibar
7 April	Karume Day	Siku ya Karume	Assassination of Zanzibar President Abeid Karume
Friday before Easter	Good Friday	Ijumaa Kuu	Crucifixion of Jesus
Monday after Easter	Easter Monday	Jumatatu ya Pasaka	The resurrection of Christ
26 April	Union Day	Sikukuu ya Muungano	The unification of Tanganyika and the People's Republic of Zanzibar in 1964
1 May	International Workers' Day	Sikukuu ya Wafanyakazi
7 July	Saba Saba Day Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair [13]	Saba Saba	Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair
8 August	Nane Nane Day Farmers' Day	Nane Nane
14 October	Nyerere Day	Siku ya Nyerere	Death anniversary of Julius Nyerere, the father of the nation
9 December	Independence Day	Siku ya Uhuru	End of British rule in 1961
25 December	Christmas Day	Krismasi	Commemoration of the birth of Jesus
26 December	Boxing Day	Siku ya kufungua Zawadi
12 Rabi' al-awwal *	Mawlid	Mawlid	Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday
1  Shawwal and 2  Shawwal *	Idd-el-Fitri	Idd el Fitri	End of the holy month of Ramadan. Breaking of the Fast. 2 days.
10 Dhu al-Hijja *	Idd-el-Haji	Idd el Haji	Feast of Sacrifice
* denotes subject to the sighting of the moon

A banner with Maulid greetings in Kisutu, Dar es Salaam.

Revolution Day military parade at Amaan Stadium in Unguja, Zanzibar.

See also

• List of holidays by country
• Saba Saba Day
• Nane Nane Day
• Nyerere Day

References

1. "Public Holidays Act (Chapter 35)" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-02-23.
2. Public Holidays Act. 2002-07-31. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
3. "An act to amend the Public Holidays Ordinance" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-02-23.
4. "An act to amend the Public Holidays Ordinance" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-02-23.
5. Laws Revision (Rectification of Printing Errors) (Public Holidays Act [Cap. 35 R.E 2002]) Notice, 2022. 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
6. "Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania - Tovuti Rasmi ya Rais". ikulu.go.tz. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
7. "Public Holidays 2023" (PDF). Bank of Tanzania. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
8. "Public Holidays". Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
9. "PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN TANZANIA - 2025" (PDF). Dar Es Salaam Stock Exchange. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
10. "Tanzania Public & Private Holidays in 2025 (Full List)". edarabia.com. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
11. "Sikukuu za Kitaifa Tanzania 2024 - HABARI FORUM". 2024-05-23. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
12. "PMO | Matukio ya Kitaifa". www.pmo.go.tz. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
13. "Saba Saba Day in Tanzania in 2021". Office Holidays. Retrieved August 23, 2020.