Weekends Around the World

Why Do Weekends Differ by Country?

Religious days of rest set the standard.

Most countries use a Saturday–Sunday weekend largely because of the economic influence of historically Christian-majority nations.

Predominantly Muslim countries + Israel. Friday for Islamic prayer, Saturday as an additional rest day.

Israel uses this schedule for Jewish reasons — Shabbat (Saturday) is the focus, with rest beginning Friday afternoon
Bangladesh officially follows Fri–Sat for the public sector, but the private sector often uses Sat–Sun

Iran — Friday only. Saturday through Thursday are workdays — one of the fewest official weekly rest days in the world
Nepal — Saturday only. Sunday is a regular workday. Saturday was formally established as the weekly rest day alongside work-week reforms around 2012
Brunei — Friday and Sunday off, but Saturday is a workday. A compromise between Islamic Friday prayers and Commonwealth Sunday tradition

Country	Change	Year	Reason
UAE	Fri–Sat → Sat–Sun	2022	Sync with global financial markets
Saudi Arabia	Thu–Fri → Fri–Sat	2013	International business alignment
Oman	Thu–Fri → Fri–Sat	2013	Aligned with Saudi Arabia
Nepal	None → Saturday	2012	Labor rights improvement

The UAE's shift was groundbreaking — the first Islamic nation to adopt a Sat–Sun weekend, alongside a 4.5-day work week (Mon–Fri morning).

1908 — A New England mill introduced Sat–Sun off to accommodate both Jewish workers (Saturday) and Christian workers (Sunday)
1929 — Henry Ford adopted the five-day week at his auto plants. "People need leisure to buy and use cars"
1940 — The US Fair Labor Standards Act codified the 40-hour work week
South Korea phased it in starting 2004, fully implemented by 2011