Working Days in Germany 2026 by State
Rules for Germany
North Rhine-Westphalia has 253 working days in 2026 (Monday to Friday, after public holidays). Other states differ by a day or two; pick yours below.
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How it works
Choose your state. The calculator takes 1 January to 31 December 2026, removes weekends and the public holidays of that state, and shows what is left. Change the dates to count a part of the year, for example the months of a project or a notice period.
The holiday list is shown under the result, with the weekday of each date and whether it reduced the count.
Working days 2026 in all 16 states
Monday to Friday, 1 January to 31 December 2026. Bavaria is shown twice because Assumption Day (15 August) applies only in municipalities with a mostly Catholic population. In 2026 it falls on a Saturday, so the count is the same.
| State | Working days (Mon–Fri) | Holidays on weekdays | Working days (Mon–Sat) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 252 | 9 | 302 |
| Bavaria (statewide holidays) | 252 | 9 | 302 |
| Bavaria (incl. Assumption Day) | 252 | 9 | 301 |
| Berlin | 254 | 7 | 304 |
| Brandenburg | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| Bremen | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| Hamburg | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| Hesse | 253 | 8 | 303 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| Lower Saxony | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 253 | 8 | 303 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 253 | 8 | 303 |
| Saarland | 253 | 8 | 302 |
| Saxony | 253 | 8 | 302 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 253 | 8 | 302 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| Thuringia | 254 | 7 | 303 |
Formula and worked example
Working days = calendar days − weekend days − public holidays on working days.
For North Rhine-Westphalia in 2026:
- Calendar days: 365
- Weekend days: 104
- Public holidays on working days: 8
- Working days: 253
Frequently asked questions
How many working days does Germany have in 2026?
There is no single number, because public holidays are set by the states. States with more weekday holidays, such as Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, have fewer working days than states with fewer. The table below lists every state.
Which holidays fall on a weekend in 2026?
Several do. German Unity Day (3 October) and the second day of Christmas (26 December) are Saturdays, and All Saints' Day (1 November) is a Sunday. They do not reduce the weekday count.
Do Easter Sunday and Whit Sunday count as holidays?
They are public holidays in Brandenburg by law, but they fall on a Sunday anyway, so they never change a weekday count.
What about Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve?
Neither is a public holiday in any German state. Many employers give them as days off or half days by contract or custom, so deduct them yourself if that applies to you.
Do I get a replacement day when a holiday falls on a weekend?
Not by law. Some collective agreements and company rules differ, so check your own contract.
Are these the same as Werktage?
No. German law counts Werktage as Monday to Saturday. Switch the working week to Monday to Saturday to see that number.
Sources and methodology
- Baden-Württemberg: Feiertagsgesetz (FTG) § 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Bayern: Feiertagsgesetz (FTG) Art. 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Berlin: Gesetz über die Sonn- und Feiertage (FeiertG BE) § 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Brandenburg: Feiertagsgesetz (FTG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Bremen: Gesetz über die Sonn-, Gedenk- und Feiertage § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Hamburg: Feiertagsgesetz § 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Hessen: Hessisches Feiertagsgesetz (HFeiertagsG) § 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Gesetz über Sonn- und Feiertage (FTG M-V) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Niedersachsen: Niedersächsisches Gesetz über die Feiertage (NFeiertagsG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Nordrhein-Westfalen: Feiertagsgesetz NW § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Rheinland-Pfalz: Landesgesetz über den Schutz der Sonn- und Feiertage (LFtG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Saarland: Gesetz Nr. 1040 über die Sonn- und Feiertage (SFG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Sachsen: Gesetz über Sonn- und Feiertage (SächsSFG) § 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Sachsen-Anhalt: Gesetz über die Sonn- und Feiertage (FeiertG LSA) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Schleswig-Holstein: Gesetz über Sonn- und Feiertage (SFTG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Thüringen: Feier- und Gedenktagsgesetz (ThürFGtG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- GOV.UK — UK bank holidays (official dataset, bank-holidays.json) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management — Federal holidays (accessed 2026-10-20)
Last updated 2026-10-20. Calculator version 1.0.0.Read how we calculate for our verification process.
Results are estimates for information only and are not financial, tax or legal advice.