Kazakhstan Public Holidays 2026: Official Calendar & Dataset

Kazakhstan’s official 2026 calendar lists nine state/national holidays and two religious non-working days. The longest scheduled break is Nauryz Meiramy: 21–23 March, with rest days transferred to 24–25 March in 2026. This page separates the current official calendar from 2027 planning dates, which are not yet a government-issued calendar. The 2026 entries are from eGov Kazakhstan’s calendar, last changed 22 April 2026.

Quick Facts

• Nine state/national holidays + two religious non-working days in the official 2026 eGov calendar
• Religious non-working days: Orthodox Christmas (7 January) and the first day of Kurban Ait (27 May in 2026)
• Longest holiday block: Nauryz Meiramy - 5 days (March 21-25 with weekend transfers)
• Most important national day: Independence Day - 16 December
• Capital Day: 6 July
• Constitution Day: this date does not appear in eGov’s 2026 list; do not treat that omission as a legal repeal without a current official notice
• Transfer days in 2026: 9 March, 24–25 March, 11 May and 26 October
• Source: egov.kz + Law No. 267 of Kazakhstan

Primary source: egov.kz Public Holidays Calendar and Law of Kazakhstan No. 267 “On Holidays in the Republic of Kazakhstan” via adilet.zan.kz.

Dataset license: Open access for journalistic, academic, business and personal use with attribution to about-kazakhstan.com.

Full Calendar 2026 (Official)

Date	Observed	Holiday (English)	Holiday (Kazakh)	Type
1-2 January	1-2 January	New Year	Жаңа жыл	National
7 January	7 January	Orthodox Christmas	Православное Рождество	Religious
8 March	9 March (transferred)	International Women’s Day	Халықаралық әйелдер күні	National
21-23 March	24-25 March (partly transferred)	Nauryz Meiramy	Наурыз мейрамы	National
1 May	1 May	People’s Unity Day	Қазақстан халқының бірлігі мерекесі	National
7 May	7 May	Defender of the Fatherland Day	Отан Қорғаушы күні	National
9 May	11 May (transferred)	Victory Day	Жеңіс күні	National
27 May	27 May	Kurban Ait (Eid al-Adha)	Құрбан айт	Religious
6 July	6 July	Capital City Day	Астана күні	National
25 October	26 October (transferred)	Republic Day	Республика күні	National
16 December	16 December	Independence Day	Тәуелсіздік күні	National

Scope note: the official eGov page lists the dates above for 2026. It does not list Constitution Day on 30 August in its 2026 calendar. This page reports that calendar state; it does not infer a change to the underlying law.

2027 Planning Dates - Not an Official Calendar

Date	Observed	Holiday
1-2 January	1-2 January	New Year
7 January	7 January	Orthodox Christmas
8 March	To be confirmed	International Women’s Day
21-23 March	To be confirmed	Nauryz Meiramy
1 May	To be confirmed	People’s Unity Day
7 May	7 May	Defender of the Fatherland Day
9 May	To be confirmed	Victory Day
Kurban Ait	To be confirmed	First day follows the Islamic calendar
6 July	6 July	Capital City Day
25 October	25 October	Republic Day
16 December	16 December	Independence Day

The statutory dates are useful for preliminary planning only. The Government’s transfer order and the official date of the first day of Kurban Ait must be checked before publishing a work schedule, booking travel, or using the CSV as a final 2027 calendar.

Calendar 2025 (Reference)

Date	Observed	Holiday
1-2 January	1-2 January (3 Jan transferred from 5 Jan)	New Year
7 January	7 January	Orthodox Christmas
8 March	10 March (transferred)	International Women’s Day
21-23 March	24-25 March (partial)	Nauryz Meiramy
1 May	1 May	People’s Unity Day
7 May	7 May	Defender of the Fatherland Day
9 May	9 May	Victory Day
6 June	6 June	Kurban Ait
6 July	7 July (transferred)	Capital City Day
30 August	1 September (transferred)	Constitution Day
25 October	27 October (transferred)	Republic Day
16 December	16 December	Independence Day

How Kazakhstan Holiday Transfers Work

Per Article 85, paragraph 3 of the Kazakhstan Labor Code, when a public holiday falls on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday), the government may transfer the rest day to the closest working day. This is done by Government Order each year, typically published in November of the preceding year.

2026 transfers explained:

• 8 March 2026 falls on Sunday → observed Monday 9 March
• 21-22 March 2026 (Nauryz days 1-2) fall on Saturday-Sunday → observed Tuesday-Wednesday 24-25 March; 23 March (Monday) is the regular Nauryz day off
• 9 May 2026 falls on Saturday → observed Monday 11 May
• 25 October 2026 falls on Sunday → observed Monday 26 October

2027: do not assume a weekend transfer from this page. The Labour Code permits the Government to transfer rest days, and the relevant annual order is the controlling source.

Holiday Categories Explained

National holidays (государственные праздники)

• New Year (1-2 January) - universal civil holiday
• International Women’s Day (8 March) - celebrated since Soviet era
• Nauryz Meiramy (21-23 March) - spring equinox, most-celebrated traditional holiday
• People’s Unity Day (1 May) - multi-ethnic unity (replaced International Workers’ Day)
• Defender of the Fatherland Day (7 May) - Kazakh Armed Forces founding (1992)
• Victory Day (9 May) - WWII victory commemoration
• Capital City Day (6 July) - anniversary of Astana’s designation as capital
• Republic Day (25 October) - declaration of state sovereignty (1990)
• Independence Day (16 December) - independence from USSR (1991)

Religious holidays (религиозные праздники)

• Orthodox Christmas (7 January) - observed by ethnic Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian populations
• Kurban Ait / Eid al-Adha (varies by Islamic calendar) - observed by ethnic Kazakh, Uzbek, Tajik, Tatar, Uyghur populations

Note: Both major religious holidays are recognized as state non-working days, reflecting Kazakhstan’s secular but multi-confessional constitution.

Long Weekends and Travel Planning

For travelers and business planners, the longest extended holiday windows in 2026 are:

Period	Length	Holidays included
21-25 March	5 days	Nauryz Meiramy with weekend transfer
7-11 May	5 days	Defender’s Day + Victory Day with transfer
1-3 May	3 days	Unity Day + weekend
25-26 October	2 days	Republic Day with transfer
1-2 January	2 days	New Year

Travel implications: holiday periods can change demand and operator hours, but this dataset does not publish a universal fare, hotel-occupancy or closure estimate. Check the carrier, hotel, park and embassy directly for a specific date.

Historical Holiday Changes

Year	Change
1992	Defender of the Fatherland Day created (May 7)
1996	International Women’s Day reinstated as public holiday
1995	People’s Unity Day created (1 May)
1998	Capital City Day created when Astana became capital
2009	Day of the First President added (1 December) - later removed in 2022
2017	Republic Day status updated
2022	Day of the First President removed from holiday list

Comparison with Neighboring Central Asian States

Kazakhstan has slightly more public holidays than its Central Asian neighbors, reflecting both its multi-ethnic policy (recognizing both Orthodox and Islamic religious holidays) and its post-Soviet calendar reforms.

Country	Public holidays	Notable
Kazakhstan	11	Both Orthodox Christmas and Kurban Ait
Kyrgyzstan	9	Similar structure, more Islamic emphasis
Uzbekistan	9	Independence Day September 1
Tajikistan	8	More religious orientation
Turkmenistan	9	Several state-specific holidays

Downloadable Dataset

CSV coverage: 2025 and the official 2026 calendar, plus clearly labelled preliminary 2027 planning rows.

📥 Download kazakhstan-public-holidays-2025-2027.csv (3 KB)

Schema (columns):

Column	Type	Description
date	YYYY-MM-DD	Calendar date of the holiday
date_observed	YYYY-MM-DD	Day actually observed (after weekend transfer)
name_en	string	English holiday name
name_kz	string	Kazakh name (Cyrillic)
name_ru	string	Russian name
type	enum	national / religious
working_status	enum	working / non_working
year	int	Calendar year

License: Open access for journalistic, academic, business and commercial use with attribution: “Source: about-kazakhstan.com (compiled from eGov.kz; 2026 calendar checked July 2026).”

Methodology and Verification

This dataset was compiled from the official Public Holidays Calendar of Electronic Government of Kazakhstan (egov.kz), last updated 22 April 2026, plus the underlying Law of Kazakhstan No. 267 “On Holidays in the Republic of Kazakhstan” (adilet.zan.kz database).

Process:

1. Captured the official eGov.kz Russian-language calendar for 2025 and 2026
2. Cross-referenced against Kazakhstan Labor Code Article 85 (transfer rules)
3. Marked 2027 statutory dates as preliminary rather than presenting a forecast as an official calendar
4. Left 2027 transfer days and the first day of Kurban Ait as to-be-confirmed until an official current-year source is published

Update commitment: This dataset is reviewed quarterly and refreshed in November of each year when the Government issues the next year’s transfer order. Material changes will trigger interim updates.

Known limitations:

• 2027 Kurban Ait and transfer days are not published here as confirmed facts
• A government-issued transfer order can change the observed non-working dates
• Day of the First President (1 December) was a holiday 2009-2022 and is excluded from current dataset

For Journalists, HR, and Travel Industry

This dataset is structured to support business, HR planning, journalism, and travel industry use.

Suggested citation:

• APA: Konabayev, T. (2026). Kazakhstan Public Holidays 2026: Official Calendar & Dataset. about-kazakhstan.com.
• AP: “Kazakhstan public holidays 2026 calendar, about-kazakhstan.com (July 2026)”

Press inquiries: info@about-kazakhstan.com

Sources

**Source cross-checks used for this dataset: eGov Kazakhstan public holidays calendar, Kazakhstan Labor Code on** Adilet, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Kazakhstan.

Related guides

For planning context, use Nauryz in Kazakhstan, Best time to visit Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan travel tips, Almaty guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many public holidays does Kazakhstan have in 2026?

Kazakhstan has 11 official public holidays in 2026: 9 national holidays (New Year x2, International Women's Day, Nauryz x3, People's Unity Day, Defender of the Fatherland Day, Victory Day, Capital Day, Republic Day, Independence Day) and 2 religious holidays (Orthodox Christmas, Kurban Ait). Source: egov.kz official calendar, last updated April 2026.

When is Nauryz in 2026?

Nauryz Meiramy in 2026 is officially March 21-23. Because 21-22 March fall on Saturday-Sunday in 2026, the rest days are transferred to Tuesday-Wednesday 24-25 March, while 23 March (Monday) is the regular Nauryz day off. The full holiday block runs from Saturday 21 March to Wednesday 25 March 2026.

What is the longest Kazakhstan holiday in 2026?

Nauryz Meiramy runs from 21 to 25 March in 2026 because weekend rest days move to 24–25 March. The May dates also form a useful planning window, but transport and hotel prices are operator-specific and should be checked live.

Is Constitution Day still a holiday in Kazakhstan?

Constitution Day does not appear in eGov's 2026 public-holiday calendar. That calendar omission is not, by itself, evidence that the holiday law changed; check the current eGov calendar and the applicable government order before planning around 30 August.

When is Kurban Ait in Kazakhstan in 2026?

Kurban Ait (Eid al-Adha) in Kazakhstan in 2026 falls on 27 May according to the eGov calendar. Its Gregorian date varies by year; use a current official calendar rather than a projected date for 2027.

Where can I download Kazakhstan holiday data as CSV?

A complete CSV dataset of Kazakhstan public holidays for 2025, 2026, and 2027 is available at about-kazakhstan.com/datasets/kazakhstan-public-holidays-2025-2027.csv. Open access with attribution. Compiled from egov.kz official calendar, verified April 2026. Quarterly updates.

Last verified: 27 April 2026. Primary source: egov.kz (last updated 22 April 2026). Quarterly refresh.