Countries with the most long weekends in 2026
A public holiday on a Tuesday is worth more than one on a Saturday, and a run of three days off is worth more than either. This ranks 35 countries by the runs their 2026 calendar actually produces — Japan comes first with 8.
The ranking
| # | Country | Long weekends | Longest run | Days in total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 8 | 5 days | 28 |
| 2 | Brazil | 8 | 4 days | 25 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 8 | 4 days | 27 |
| 4 | United States | 8 | 3 days | 24 |
| 5 | Ireland | 7 | 4 days | 22 |
| 6 | Russia | 6 | 11 days | 26 |
| 7 | Czechia | 6 | 4 days | 20 |
| 8 | Mexico | 6 | 4 days | 19 |
| 9 | Romania | 6 | 4 days | 21 |
| 10 | Denmark | 5 | 5 days | 19 |
| 11 | Iceland | 5 | 5 days | 18 |
| 12 | Belgium | 5 | 4 days | 17 |
| 13 | Greece | 5 | 4 days | 16 |
| 14 | Hungary | 5 | 4 days | 16 |
| 15 | South Africa | 5 | 4 days | 16 |
| 16 | Austria | 5 | 3 days | 15 |
| 17 | Canada | 5 | 3 days | 15 |
| 18 | France | 5 | 3 days | 15 |
| 19 | Norway | 4 | 5 days | 14 |
| 20 | Finland | 4 | 4 days | 14 |
| 21 | Germany | 4 | 4 days | 13 |
| 22 | Netherlands | 4 | 4 days | 13 |
| 23 | Serbia | 4 | 4 days | 15 |
| 24 | Slovakia | 4 | 4 days | 14 |
| 25 | Sweden | 4 | 4 days | 14 |
| 26 | United Kingdom | 4 | 4 days | 13 |
| 27 | Croatia | 4 | 3 days | 12 |
| 28 | Portugal | 4 | 3 days | 12 |
| 29 | Spain | 4 | 3 days | 12 |
| 30 | Turkey | 3 | 5 days | 11 |
| 31 | Australia | 3 | 4 days | 11 |
| 32 | Poland | 3 | 4 days | 10 |
| 33 | Italy | 3 | 3 days | 9 |
| 34 | India | 2 | 3 days | 6 |
| 35 | Switzerland | 1 | 3 days | 3 |
The longest single break
In Japan the longest unbroken stretch runs May 2 to May 6 — 5 days, created by Greenery Day, Children's Day and Constitution Memorial Day landing next to a weekend. The longest run anywhere on the list is 11 days, in Russia.
Why the winner changes every year
Countries with many fixed-date holidays swing hardest. A fixed date is a lottery ticket: in one year it falls on a Tuesday and creates a four-day break with one day of leave, in the next it falls on a Sunday and disappears entirely. Countries that peg holidays to a weekday instead — the American "third Monday in January" pattern, the British bank holiday Mondays — produce a long weekend every single time, which is why they rank steadily rather than spectacularly.
That difference is the whole reason this table is worth recomputing each year, and why a ranking copied from last year's article is usually wrong.
How this was counted
- Nationwide public holidays only. A regional holiday does not give most of the country a long weekend, so counting it would flatter countries that devolve their calendars.
- Weekends and holidays together, as an unbroken run of three days or more.
- Runs that start in December and finish in January are counted in the year they start.
- No bridge days: taking the Friday off to join a Thursday holiday to the weekend is leave, not calendar.
Related
- Countries with the most public holidays 2026
- Months with five weekends 2026
- Working days by country 2026
- Print a calendar with the holidays marked