Bangladesh Holidays 2026: Full Public Holiday List

The advisory council approved 28 public holidays for 2026. Below is the working list with dates, which days are national and which are religious, and where the Eid windows sit, so you can plan a trip home without guessing.

Compiled from the 28-day holiday list approved by the advisory council on 6 November 2025. Islamic dates depend on moon sighting and are confirmed by the Islamic Foundation on the eve of the festival.

How the 2026 calendar is structured

Bangladesh runs on three calendars at once. National days follow the Gregorian date and never move, the Bengali year drives Pohela Boishakh, and the lunar Hijri year sets the Islamic festivals, which is why Eid slides about eleven days earlier each year. The Cabinet Division publishes one list covering government offices, banks, schools and courts, and that single document is what every roster in the country follows. In 2026 the 28 approved days include nine that land on a Friday or Saturday, so the real time off is fewer than the headline number suggests.

Eid-ul-Fitr: 19 to 23 March

The fasting month of Ramadan runs through February and March, with Eid expected on Friday 20 March 2026, subject to sighting. Government offices typically close for a block of days around it, and the Shab-e-Qadr holiday sits just before, on 16 and 17 March. This is the single most disruptive week of the Bangladeshi year: domestic flights to Sylhet, Chattogram and Cox's Bazar sell out, trains fill the moment bookings open, and the Dhaka to district bus fares climb sharply. Probashi flying in should aim to land before 17 March or accept a busy airport.

Eid-ul-Adha: 26 to 31 May

Qurbani Eid is expected on Wednesday 27 May 2026, with the holiday block running from 26 to 31 May. Cattle markets open across the city in the week before, the roads around them clog, and intercity travel peaks twice: once as families head to their village and again as they return. If you are visiting in this window, book accommodation and internal transport before Ramadan ends, because the good options disappear early.

Fixed dates you can plan a year ahead

21 February, 26 March, 14 April, 1 May, 16 December and 25 December fall on the same date every year, so they are safe anchors for a trip. Language Martyrs Day on 21 February fills the Shaheed Minar area from midnight with barefoot processions, Independence Day on 26 March brings parades and a national holiday feel, and Pohela Boishakh on 14 April is the most photogenic day of the year in Old Dhaka, with Halkhata ceremonies in the traders' shops and the Mangal Shobhajatra procession in the morning.

What stays open on a public holiday

Government offices, banks, schools, courts and most corporate offices close. Shops, pharmacies, restaurants, ride-sharing and mobile money agents usually keep working, and bKash and Nagad cash-out points stay open because demand rises rather than falls. Hospitals run emergency services, and the two Eid windows are the only times when you should call ahead for anything official, from a bank branch to an embassy counter.

Frequently asked questions