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Not every country starts its week on the same day. Most of the world follows the ISO 8601 standard and treats Monday as day one, but several countries — mostly across the Middle East and South Asia — start the week on Saturday or Sunday instead. The table below covers all 193 United Nations member states, and you can sort or filter it by country, region, or first day of the week.
Methodology: first-day-of-week values are based on the Unicode Common Locale Data Repository (CLDR), the same reference dataset used by browsers, operating systems, and calendar apps. Countries with no explicit CLDR entry fall back to the ISO 8601 default of Monday.
First day of the week, country by country
| Afghanistan | Asia | Saturday |
| Albania | Europe | Monday |
| Algeria | Africa | Saturday |
| Andorra | Europe | Monday |
| Angola | Africa | Monday |
| Antigua and Barbuda | North America | Sunday |
| Argentina | South America | Monday |
| Armenia | Asia | Monday |
| Australia | Oceania | Sunday |
| Austria | Europe | Monday |
| Azerbaijan | Asia | Monday |
| Bahamas | North America | Sunday |
| Bahrain | Asia | Saturday |
| Bangladesh | Asia | Sunday |
| Barbados | North America | Monday |
| Belarus | Europe | Monday |
| Belgium | Europe | Monday |
| Belize | North America | Sunday |
| Benin | Africa | Monday |
| Bhutan | Asia | Sunday |
| Bolivia | South America | Monday |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Europe | Monday |
| Botswana | Africa | Sunday |
| Brazil | South America | Sunday |
| Brunei | Asia | Monday |
| Bulgaria | Europe | Monday |
| Burkina Faso | Africa | Monday |
| Burundi | Africa | Monday |
| Cabo Verde | Africa | Monday |
| Cambodia | Asia | Sunday |
| Cameroon | Africa | Monday |
| Canada | North America | Sunday |
| Central African Republic | Africa | Monday |
| Chad | Africa | Monday |
| Chile | South America | Monday |
| China | Asia | Sunday |
| Colombia | South America | Sunday |
| Comoros | Africa | Monday |
| Congo (Democratic Republic of the) | Africa | Monday |
| Congo (Republic of the) | Africa | Monday |
| Costa Rica | North America | Monday |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Africa | Monday |
| Croatia | Europe | Monday |
| Cuba | North America | Monday |
| Cyprus | Asia | Monday |
| Czechia | Europe | Monday |
| Denmark | Europe | Monday |
| Djibouti | Africa | Saturday |
| Dominica | North America | Sunday |
| Dominican Republic | North America | Sunday |
| Ecuador | South America | Monday |
| Egypt | Africa | Saturday |
| El Salvador | North America | Sunday |
| Equatorial Guinea | Africa | Monday |
| Eritrea | Africa | Monday |
| Estonia | Europe | Monday |
| Eswatini | Africa | Monday |
| Ethiopia | Africa | Sunday |
| Fiji | Oceania | Monday |
| Finland | Europe | Monday |
| France | Europe | Monday |
| Gabon | Africa | Monday |
| Gambia | Africa | Monday |
| Georgia | Asia | Monday |
| Germany | Europe | Monday |
| Ghana | Africa | Monday |
| Greece | Europe | Monday |
| Grenada | North America | Monday |
| Guatemala | North America | Sunday |
| Guinea | Africa | Monday |
| Guinea-Bissau | Africa | Monday |
| Guyana | South America | Monday |
| Haiti | North America | Monday |
| Honduras | North America | Sunday |
| Hungary | Europe | Monday |
| Iceland | Europe | Monday |
| India | Asia | Sunday |
| Indonesia | Asia | Sunday |
| Iran | Asia | Saturday |
| Iraq | Asia | Saturday |
| Ireland | Europe | Monday |
| Israel | Asia | Sunday |
| Italy | Europe | Monday |
| Jamaica | North America | Sunday |
| Japan | Asia | Sunday |
| Jordan | Asia | Saturday |
| Kazakhstan | Asia | Monday |
| Kenya | Africa | Sunday |
| Kiribati | Oceania | Monday |
| Korea (North) | Asia | Monday |
| Korea (South) | Asia | Sunday |
| Kuwait | Asia | Saturday |
| Kyrgyzstan | Asia | Monday |
| Laos | Asia | Sunday |
| Latvia | Europe | Monday |
| Lebanon | Asia | Monday |
| Lesotho | Africa | Monday |
| Liberia | Africa | Monday |
| Libya | Africa | Saturday |
| Liechtenstein | Europe | Monday |
| Lithuania | Europe | Monday |
| Luxembourg | Europe | Monday |
| Madagascar | Africa | Monday |
| Malawi | Africa | Monday |
| Malaysia | Asia | Monday |
| Maldives | Asia | Friday |
| Mali | Africa | Monday |
| Malta | Europe | Sunday |
| Marshall Islands | Oceania | Sunday |
| Mauritania | Africa | Monday |
| Mauritius | Africa | Monday |
| Mexico | North America | Sunday |
| Micronesia | Oceania | Monday |
| Moldova | Europe | Monday |
| Monaco | Europe | Monday |
| Mongolia | Asia | Monday |
| Montenegro | Europe | Monday |
| Morocco | Africa | Monday |
| Mozambique | Africa | Sunday |
| Myanmar | Asia | Sunday |
| Namibia | Africa | Monday |
| Nauru | Oceania | Monday |
| Nepal | Asia | Sunday |
| Netherlands | Europe | Monday |
| New Zealand | Oceania | Monday |
| Nicaragua | North America | Sunday |
| Niger | Africa | Monday |
| Nigeria | Africa | Monday |
| North Macedonia | Europe | Monday |
| Norway | Europe | Monday |
| Oman | Asia | Saturday |
| Pakistan | Asia | Sunday |
| Palau | Oceania | Monday |
| Panama | North America | Sunday |
| Papua New Guinea | Oceania | Monday |
| Paraguay | South America | Sunday |
| Peru | South America | Sunday |
| Philippines | Asia | Sunday |
| Poland | Europe | Monday |
| Portugal | Europe | Sunday |
| Qatar | Asia | Saturday |
| Romania | Europe | Monday |
| Russia | Europe | Monday |
| Rwanda | Africa | Monday |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | North America | Monday |
| Saint Lucia | North America | Monday |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | North America | Monday |
| Samoa | Oceania | Sunday |
| San Marino | Europe | Monday |
| Sao Tome and Principe | Africa | Monday |
| Saudi Arabia | Asia | Sunday |
| Senegal | Africa | Monday |
| Serbia | Europe | Monday |
| Seychelles | Africa | Monday |
| Sierra Leone | Africa | Monday |
| Singapore | Asia | Sunday |
| Slovakia | Europe | Monday |
| Slovenia | Europe | Monday |
| Solomon Islands | Oceania | Monday |
| Somalia | Africa | Monday |
| South Africa | Africa | Sunday |
| South Sudan | Africa | Monday |
| Spain | Europe | Monday |
| Sri Lanka | Asia | Monday |
| Sudan | Africa | Saturday |
| Suriname | South America | Monday |
| Sweden | Europe | Monday |
| Switzerland | Europe | Monday |
| Syria | Asia | Saturday |
| Tajikistan | Asia | Monday |
| Tanzania | Africa | Monday |
| Thailand | Asia | Sunday |
| Timor-Leste | Asia | Monday |
| Togo | Africa | Monday |
| Tonga | Oceania | Monday |
| Trinidad and Tobago | North America | Sunday |
| Tunisia | Africa | Monday |
| Turkey (Türkiye) | Asia | Monday |
| Turkmenistan | Asia | Monday |
| Tuvalu | Oceania | Monday |
| Uganda | Africa | Monday |
| Ukraine | Europe | Monday |
| United Arab Emirates | Asia | Saturday |
| United Kingdom | Europe | Monday |
| United States | North America | Sunday |
| Uruguay | South America | Monday |
| Uzbekistan | Asia | Monday |
| Vanuatu | Oceania | Monday |
| Venezuela | South America | Sunday |
| Vietnam | Asia | Monday |
| Yemen | Asia | Sunday |
| Zambia | Africa | Monday |
| Zimbabwe | Africa | Sunday |
| No countries match your search or filters. | ||
Frequently asked questions
Which countries start the week on Sunday?
Countries including the United States, Canada, Japan, Brazil, India, Israel, and South Korea treat Sunday as the first day of the week. Use the filter above to see the full list.
Which countries start the week on Saturday?
A cluster of countries across the Middle East and North Africa — including Saudi Arabia's neighbors Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates — start the week on Saturday.
What is the international standard first day of the week?
ISO 8601, the international date and time standard, defines Monday as the first day of the week. Most of Europe, Asia, and Africa follow this convention.