Ethiopian Calendar Converter
Convert a Gregorian date to the Ethiopian calendar and back, with its thirteenth month, Pagume, and the seven or eight year gap.
Result
Ethiopian date: 24 Meskerem 2019 EC
Eritrea uses the same calendar. Dates are civil days from midnight, though Ethiopian clock time counts hours from dawn.
- Day of the week
- Sunday
- Year difference
- 7 years behind the Gregorian year on this date
https://calcgallery.com/date-time/ethiopian-calendar-converter-calculator/
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How to use the Ethiopian Calendar Converter
- Choose whether you are converting a Gregorian date to the Ethiopian calendar or an Ethiopian date to Gregorian.
- For an Ethiopian date, enter the year (for example 2019), pick the month and enter the day. Pagume is the short thirteenth month.
- Read the converted date, its weekday and how many years the Ethiopian year is behind the Gregorian one on that date.
Thirteen months
The Ethiopian calendar, used in Ethiopia and in the Eritrean and Ethiopian Orthodox churches, comes from the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It has twelve months of exactly 30 days and a short thirteenth month, Pagume, at the end of the year.
Meskerem … Nehase 12 months × 30 days = 360Pagume 5 days, 6 when year mod 4 = 3new year 1 Meskerem = 11 September (12 September before a Gregorian leap year)Because every month is 30 days, an Ethiopian date is easy to count once you know when the year began. That is how the page works: it finds the day count of 1 Meskerem from the leap rule, then adds 30 days for each month before the one you picked.
Why the dates drift against Gregorian
The Ethiopian calendar adds a leap day every four years without exception, as the Julian calendar does. The Gregorian calendar leaves out three leap days every 400 years. So over the centuries the two drift apart: before 1900 the Ethiopian New Year fell on 10 or 11 September, and after 2100 it will fall on 12 or 13 September. The page applies the rule to every date from 1583 to 2999, so these shifts come out on their own.
With your numbers
- Twelve months of 30 days and Pagume of 5 days, or 6 in the year before a Gregorian leap year
- The year begins on 1 Meskerem, which is 11 September, or 12 September in the year before a Gregorian leap year
Quick reference
Eritrea uses the same calendar. Dates are civil days from midnight, though Ethiopian clock time counts hours from dawn.
| Example | Result |
|---|---|
| 4 October 2026 | Ethiopian date: 24 Meskerem 2019 EC |
| 1 Meskerem 2019 (Enkutatash) | Gregorian date: September 11, 2026 |
| 17 Meskerem 2019 (Meskel) | Gregorian date: September 27, 2026 |
| 29 Tahsas 2019 (Genna) | Gregorian date: January 7, 2027 |
| 11 Tir 2019 (Timkat) | Gregorian date: January 19, 2027 |
| 6 Pagume 2019 (leap day) | Gregorian date: September 11, 2027 |
| 1 January 2027 | Ethiopian date: 23 Tahsas 2019 EC |
Common questions about the Ethiopian Calendar Converter
- Why is the Ethiopian year seven or eight years behind?
- The Ethiopian Church dates the Annunciation, from which it counts its years, seven or eight years later than the date Western churches settled on. The Ethiopian year also begins in September, not January. So from 1 Meskerem in September to the end of December the gap is seven years, and from January until the next Ethiopian New Year it is eight.
- What is Pagume?
- The thirteenth month, of 5 days, or 6 in a leap year. Twelve months of 30 days make 360, and Pagume brings the year to 365 or 366. It falls at the start of September, just before the New Year.
- When is Enkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year?
- On 1 Meskerem, which is 11 September in the Gregorian calendar, or 12 September when the next Gregorian year is a leap year. The day moves because the Ethiopian leap day, 6 Pagume, comes about six months before the Gregorian one, 29 February.
- Which years are leap years?
- Every fourth year, with no century exceptions: an Ethiopian year is a leap year when dividing it by 4 leaves 3. Because the Gregorian calendar skips leap years in 2100, 2200 and 2300, the Ethiopian New Year moves a day later in the Gregorian calendar after each of those years.
- Why do Ethiopians say a different time of day?
- Ethiopian clock time counts twelve hours from dawn and twelve from dusk, so 7 a.m. is said as 1 o'clock. That changes how hours are named, not which day it is. The page converts dates only.