First Day of Week

String value indicating the first day of the week: "monday", "sunday", or "saturday". Based on cultural, religious, and administrative calendar conventions. Extracted from REST Countries API startOfWeek field. Determines calendar layouts, work week scheduling, and weekend definitions.

Week start day affects business hours, school schedules, and weekend planning for travelers. Monday-start countries have Saturday-Sunday weekends (most of world). Sunday-start countries (Americas, Japan) also have Saturday-Sunday weekends but calendars display differently. Saturday-start countries (Middle East) often have Friday-Saturday weekends due to Islamic Friday prayers. Understanding local week structure helps travelers plan activities, avoid closed businesses, and schedule meetings.

Monday start: ~150 countries (most common globally) - All of Europe (EU, UK, Russia, etc.) - Most of Asia: China, India, Southeast Asia - Most of Africa - South America: Most countries - Oceania: Australia, New Zealand - ISO 8601 standard: Monday is day 1 of week - Typical weekend: Saturday-Sunday - Work week: Monday-Friday Sunday start: ~60 countries - North America: USA, Canada, Mexico - East Asia: Japan, South Korea - Central/South America: Some countries - Many calendars/planners: Sunday in leftmost column - Typical weekend: Saturday-Sunday (same as Monday-start, just calendar display differs) - Work week: Monday-Friday - Cultural note: Christian tradition (Sunday is "first day" and day of rest) Saturday start: ~15 countries (Islamic-majority Middle East) - Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Sudan - Israel (Jewish Sabbath starts Friday evening) - Typical weekend: Friday-Saturday (Islamic Friday prayers) OR Saturday-Sunday - Work week: Sunday-Thursday (most Gulf countries) OR Monday-Friday with half-day Friday - Note: Some countries have shifted to Sunday-Thursday or Friday-Saturday weekends for business alignment with global markets Weekend variations: - Friday-Saturday: Most Gulf countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman) - Saturday-Sunday: Global standard (Europe, Americas, Asia-Pacific, most of world) - Sunday only: Some countries historically (Philippines until 1980s) - No fixed weekend: Shift work, 24/7 industries Recent changes: - UAE (2022): Shifted from Friday-Saturday to Saturday-Sunday weekend, but Friday half-day for prayers - Saudi Arabia (2013): Shifted weekend to Friday-Saturday (previously Thursday-Friday) - Algeria: Reverted to Thursday-Friday (was Friday-Saturday)

Coverage: 217 countries Update frequency: Static (changes rare but occur with work week reforms) Source: REST Countries API Limitations: "Start of week" is cultural convention, not legal mandate in most countries. Calendar apps and software may default to user's locale settings, not country of residence. Work week schedules don't always align with cultural week start (e.g., USA calendars start Sunday but work week is Monday-Friday). Weekend definition separate from week start (Friday-Saturday in Gulf countries but Saturday start). Religious minorities may observe different weeks within same country (e.g., Christian Sunday, Jewish Saturday, Muslim Friday). School weeks, government office hours, and business hours may differ from cultural week start.