Ethiopia keeps its own calendar. The year has 13 months, the new year starts in September, and the country counts seven to eight years behind the Gregorian calendar, so October 2026 is in the year 2019 in Ethiopia. Use the converter below to change any date between the two calendars, or a clock time into Ethiopian time.
Gregorian date → Ethiopian date
Ethiopian date → Gregorian date
Clock time → Ethiopian time
How the Ethiopian calendar works
- 13 months. Twelve months of exactly 30 days, followed by Pagume, a short 13th month of 5 days, or 6 days in a leap year. That is where the tourist slogan “13 months of sunshine” comes from.
- New year in September. The year begins on Meskerem 1, which is 11 September, or 12 September in the year before a Gregorian leap year. The holiday is called Enkutatash.
- Seven or eight years behind. From September to December the Ethiopian year is seven years behind the Gregorian year; from January to early September it is eight years behind. The difference comes from a different calculation of the year of the Annunciation.
- Leap years come every four years, in the Ethiopian year before a Gregorian leap year, when Pagume has 6 days.
- Dates are written with ዓ.ም. (Amete Mihret, “year of mercy”) after the year, much as “AD” is used in English.
The months
| # | Month | Amharic | Starts on (normal year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meskerem | መስከረም | 11 September |
| 2 | Tikimt | ጥቅምት | 11 October |
| 3 | Hidar | ኅዳር | 10 November |
| 4 | Tahsas | ታኅሣሥ | 10 December |
| 5 | Tir | ጥር | 9 January |
| 6 | Yekatit | የካቲት | 8 February |
| 7 | Megabit | መጋቢት | 10 March |
| 8 | Miyazya | ሚያዝያ | 9 April |
| 9 | Ginbot | ግንቦት | 9 May |
| 10 | Sene | ሰኔ | 8 June |
| 11 | Hamle | ሐምሌ | 8 July |
| 12 | Nehase | ነሐሴ | 7 August |
| 13 | Pagume | ጳጉሜ | 6 September |
In a year that starts on 12 September, each month starts one day later than shown here until the end of February.
Ethiopian time
Ethiopians also count the hours differently. The day starts at sunrise, so 6:00 in the morning is 12:00 Ethiopian time, 7:00 is 1:00, and noon is 6:00. Evening hours start again at 12:00 at 6:00 pm. When someone in Addis Ababa says “meet at 3”, ask whether they mean Ethiopian time, which would be 9:00 am. The converter above does this for any time. More on how this affects daily life in time concept and punctuality.
Holidays in the Ethiopian calendar
| Holiday | Ethiopian date | Gregorian date |
|---|---|---|
| Enkutatash (New Year) | Meskerem 1 | 11 September |
| Meskel | Meskerem 17 | 27 September |
| Genna (Christmas) | Tahsas 29 | 7 January |
| Timkat (Epiphany) | Tir 11 | 19 January |
| Adwa Victory Day | Yekatit 23 | 2 March |
| Fasika (Easter) | moves each year | 2 May in 2027 |
In a year that starts on 12 September, Timkat moves to 20 January, while Genna is still celebrated on 7 January. Irreecha, the Oromo thanksgiving, is held on the first weekend of October.
For the background to the calendar, see time and the Ethiopian calendar, and for more surprises like it, interesting facts about Ethiopia.
