Gazette Issued for 2027 Public Holidays: 29 Days in Total, 22 on Working Days

The Ministry of Public Administration has issued the gazette notification for the list of public holidays for 2027. According to the notification issued on Thursday (5 November), there will be 15 days of general holidays and 14 days of government holidays by executive order next year, 29 days in total. Seven of those days fall on weekly holidays, so 22 holidays will be available on working days.

Earlier, on 2 November, the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman approved the public holiday list for 2027. According to the gazette, the list will apply to all government and semi-government offices and statutory, autonomous and semi-autonomous organisations in the country.

The general holidays are: 21 February Martyrs' Day and International Mother Language Day, 5 March Jumatul Bida, 10 March Eid-ul-Fitr, 26 March Independence and National Day, 13 April Chaitra Sankranti (only for the hill districts of Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban), 1 May May Day, 17 May Eid-ul-Azha, 20 May Buddha Purnima, 12 August Eid-e-Miladunnabi (PBUH), 1 September Janmashtami, 10 October Durga Puja's Bijoya Dashami, 7 November National Revolution and Solidarity Day, 16 December Victory Day and 25 December Christmas Day.

The holidays by executive order are: 24 January Shab-e-Barat, 7 March Shab-e-Qadr, two days before and two days after Eid-ul-Fitr, 14 April Bengali New Year, two days before and three days after Eid-ul-Azha, 16 June Ashura and 9 October Durga Puja's Maha Nabami.

On this calculation, there will be five days of government holiday in total for Eid-ul-Fitr including the general holiday, and six days for Eid-ul-Azha. For Durga Puja, Maha Nabami and Bijoya Dashami together will give two days of holiday.

Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani said four of the 15 general holidays and three of the 14 executive-order holidays fall on weekly holidays. As seven of the 29 days are Fridays and Saturdays, 22 holidays will fall on working days.

The gazette also keeps provision for optional holidays for employees of different religions and small ethnic groups. Six days of optional holiday have been set for Muslims, nine days for Hindus, eight days for Christians and seven days for Buddhists.

In addition, employees from small ethnic groups working in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and outside it will get two days of optional holiday to observe their main social festival Boisabi or a similar festival.

A government employee can take a maximum of three days of optional holiday in a year according to their own religion, with prior approval from the appropriate authority at the start of the year. Optional holidays can also be taken together with general holidays, executive-order holidays and weekly holidays.

The gazette further says that offices whose schedules and holidays are governed by their own laws, or institutions whose services the government has declared essential, will declare holidays under their own laws considering public interest.