Which countries have a Friday-Saturday weekend?

The working week in the Arab world has traditionally revolved around Friday being the centre of the weekend as the sacred day of worship in Islam.

While that has meant some Muslim majority countries make Thursday and Friday their weekend, many have sought to align more closely with the non-Islamic world by designating a working week from Sunday to Thursday with weekends falling on Friday and Saturday.

Then there are some in the region that use the same working timetable as the West and non-Arab world in a bid to improve economic competitiveness and to be in line with global markets.

The UAE has become the latest country to shift its weekend to Saturday and Sunday starting from January.

Here is the situation across the Middle East:

GCC

Working weeks across the Gulf Co-operation Council countries are still Sunday-Thursday.

In 2013, Saudi Arabia changed the start of its two-day weekend from Thursday-Friday to Friday-Saturday to help co-ordinate business and banking days with the rest of the world.

Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar have also switched to a Friday-Saturday weekend.

Any country following the Sunday-Thursday model will have four working days overlapping with Western and multinational businesses.

Switching to the Saturday-Sunday weekend will add one more day.

Lebanon (Saturday and Sunday)

In 2017, Lebanon adopted a new official pattern of 35 weekly hours in government offices with Saturday and Sunday as a weekend.

But the multi-confessional country sought to appease as many people as possible with the move. Public sector work hours are Monday to Thursday 8am to 2pm, Friday 8am to 11am — allowing Muslims to attend noon prayers — and 8am-1pm on Saturday with Sunday off to allow Christians to pray.

Lebanon has among the highest number of public sector holidays in the world, taking into account the religious days of many of the 18 official sects within the country.

Tunisia (Saturday and Sunday)

In 2016, the authorities decided to consider Saturday as a working day in some public institutions but then Tunisia started following the Monday-Friday working week in 2021.

On Friday, many businesses take an extended lunch break for afternoon prayers.

Shoppers pass through the narrow alleys in the souks of the Medina in Tunis. Getty Images

Morocco (Saturday and Sunday)

The standard working week in Morocco is 48 hours, or eight hours a day, Monday-Friday.

Israel (Friday and Saturday)

The relevant laws in Israel designate Friday and Saturday as the official weekend as the Jewish Shabbat runs from dusk on Friday to dusk on Saturday.

Algeria (Friday and Saturday)

The country had a Thursday-Friday weekend since 1976 but changed the pattern to Friday-Saturday in 2009.

Egypt (Friday and Saturday)

Egypt's weekend starts on Friday and extends into Saturday. Some private companies, however, adopt a half-day on Thursdays.

Iraq (Friday and Saturday)

In Iraq, the weekend refers to Friday and Saturday.

Jordan (Friday and Saturday)

The working week in Jordan is Sunday-Thursday.

Libya (Friday and Saturday)

In 2006, the Libyan authorities decided to change the weekend to Friday-Saturday instead of having only Friday off.

Members of a family shop at a supermarket in Libya's capital Tripoli. AFP

yallacompare profile

Date of launch: 2014

Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer

Based: Media City, Dubai

Sector: Financial services

Size: 120 employees

Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)

Last-16 Europa League fixtures

Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)

FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm

Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm

Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm

Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm

Thursday

Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm

Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm

FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm

Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm

The stats

Ship name: MSC Bellissima

Ship class: Meraviglia Class

Delivery date: February 27, 2019

Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT

Passenger capacity: 5,686

Crew members: 1,536

Number of cabins: 2,217

Length: 315.3 metres

Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer