Geography & Reference
World Week Start Day Guide
Which day begins the working week in each country — Saturday, Sunday or Monday — so calendars, schedules and deadlines line up everywhere.
United States
Week starts Sunday
North America
Canada
Week starts Sunday
North America
Mexico
Week starts Sunday
North America
Brazil
Week starts Sunday
South America
Argentina
Week starts Sunday
South America
Chile
Week starts Monday
South America
Colombia
Week starts Sunday
South America
Peru
Week starts Sunday
South America
United Kingdom
Week starts Monday
Europe
Ireland
Week starts Monday
Europe
France
Week starts Monday
Europe
Germany
Week starts Monday
Europe
Italy
Week starts Monday
Europe
Spain
Week starts Monday
Europe
Portugal
Week starts Sunday
Europe
Netherlands
Week starts Monday
Europe
Belgium
Week starts Monday
Europe
Switzerland
Week starts Monday
Europe
Austria
Week starts Monday
Europe
Sweden
Week starts Monday
Europe
Norway
Week starts Monday
Europe
Denmark
Week starts Monday
Europe
Finland
Week starts Monday
Europe
Poland
Week starts Monday
Europe
Czechia
Week starts Monday
Europe
Greece
Week starts Monday
Europe
Russia
Week starts Monday
Europe
Turkey
Week starts Monday
Asia
Israel
Week starts Sunday
Asia
UAE
Week starts Monday
Asia
Saudi Arabia
Week starts Sunday
Asia
Egypt
Week starts Saturday
Africa
South Africa
Week starts Sunday
Africa
Kenya
Week starts Sunday
Africa
Nigeria
Week starts Monday
Africa
Morocco
Week starts Monday
Africa
India
Week starts Monday
Asia
Pakistan
Week starts Saturday
Asia
Bangladesh
Week starts Saturday
Asia
China
Week starts Monday
Asia
Japan
Week starts Sunday
Asia
South Korea
Week starts Sunday
Asia
Thailand
Week starts Sunday
Asia
Vietnam
Week starts Monday
Asia
Singapore
Week starts Monday
Asia
Malaysia
Week starts Sunday
Asia
Indonesia
Week starts Sunday
Asia
Philippines
Week starts Sunday
Asia
Hong Kong
Week starts Sunday
Asia
Australia
Week starts Sunday
Oceania
New Zealand
Week starts Monday
Oceania
The first day of the week is not universal
Ask which day starts the week and you will get different answers depending on where you grew up. For most of the world it is Monday. For the United States, Canada and much of Latin America it is Sunday. For several Middle Eastern countries it is Saturday. The difference is cultural, encoded in printed calendars and in software defaults, and it matters whenever you schedule across regions.
This guide shows the week-start day for each country, filtered by Saturday, Sunday or Monday, so your calendars and deadlines align with the people you are working with.
Why Sunday starts in North America
The Sunday-start convention comes from religious tradition — Sunday as the first day of creation in Christian calendars — and it embedded itself in US and Canadian calendars and software defaults. Much of Latin America inherited the same convention. The result is that a US calendar shows Sunday in the leftmost column, while a European one shows Monday.
This is invisible until two teams coordinate. A deadline described as 'end of week' means Friday in a Monday-start culture but could include the following Sunday in a Sunday-start one. Stating the day explicitly, or anchoring on ISO week numbers, removes the ambiguity.
Saturday-start in the Middle East
In much of the Middle East the workweek runs Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday as the weekend, so the calendar week begins on Saturday. This reflects the Islamic week, where Friday is the congregational prayer day. Some Gulf states have shifted toward a Monday-to-Friday workweek to align with global markets, so the convention is in flux.
For scheduling with Middle Eastern counterparts, confirm the workweek rather than assume it. A 'Monday morning' meeting may be the second workday of their week, not the first.
ISO 8601 and week numbering
ISO 8601 standardises the week as starting on Monday and ending on Sunday, and defines week numbering accordingly: week 1 is the week containing the first Thursday of the year (equivalently, the week with the year's first working day). This produces consistent week numbers across countries and systems, which matters for planning, reporting and manufacturing.
Software that computes week numbers must use the ISO rule or a regional alternative. A US Sunday-start calendar can disagree with an ISO week number around year boundaries, which is a common source of bugs in scheduling and analytics. Picking one standard — usually ISO — and applying it consistently prevents this.
Calendar defaults and software
Most calendar apps let you choose the week-start day and default to your device's locale. This is convenient but can create mismatches when a team spans regions: one member sees the week starting Sunday, another Monday, and a shared deadline sits in different visual positions. Agreeing on a team-wide setting, or stating deadlines by date rather than 'this week', avoids this.
For products with international users, expose the week-start as a setting defaulting to the user's locale but overridable. Hardcoding your home convention — as many US products do — is a small but persistent friction for everyone else.
Scheduling across week-start cultures
When you coordinate across week-start conventions, the safe practice is to state dates explicitly and use ISO 8601 week numbers where week-level granularity is needed. 'Deliver by Friday 4 September' is unambiguous; 'deliver by end of week' is not. A shared calendar with an agreed start day also helps.
This guide tells you the convention for each country so you can anticipate it. Pair it with explicit dating and you will avoid the most common cross-cultural scheduling errors — the ones that arise not from malice but from assuming everyone's week looks like yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which day starts the week?
Most of the world starts the week on Monday. The United States, Canada and much of Latin America start on Sunday. Several Middle Eastern countries start on Saturday. ISO 8601 defines Monday as the first day.
Why does ISO 8601 pick Monday?
ISO 8601 follows the European convention and the international standard that the week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday. This keeps week numbering consistent worldwide for business and data.
Does the start day affect week numbering?
Yes. ISO week numbers are computed with Monday as day 1, which shifts which dates fall in week 1 versus the last week of the previous year. Software that assumes Sunday-start can produce different week numbers.
Do calendars reflect the local start day?
Most digital calendars let you choose the start day, and many default to the local convention. Printed calendars vary; a US wall calendar typically starts weeks on Sunday, a European one on Monday.
Why do Middle Eastern weeks start on Saturday?
The workweek in much of the Middle East runs Sunday–Thursday with a Friday–Saturday weekend, so Saturday begins the calendar week in those conventions. Some Gulf states have shifted to a Monday–Friday workweek.
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