Why Ramadan comes about 11 days earlier every year

Updated 28 September 2026

Ramadan is expected to begin around 8 February in 2027 and around 28 January in 2028, eleven days earlier. The same thing happens every year, to Ramadan, to Eid al-Fitr and to Eid al-Adha. The reason is that these dates follow the Islamic calendar, which runs on the moon, while everyday life runs on the sun.

A lunar year is shorter

Each month of the Islamic calendar starts with the new moon and lasts 29 or 30 days. Twelve of them add up to 354 or 355 days, about 11 fewer than a solar year. The gap builds up, so Ramadan slides back through the Gregorian calendar by roughly 11 days a year.

It takes about 33 years to go all the way round. That is why Ramadan was in the long days of summer in the 2010s and is in winter now. In 2030 it even starts twice in the same Gregorian year, once in early January and again in late December.

Calculation or sighting

Some countries, Turkey among them, fix the start of each month by astronomical calculation years in advance. Others wait for the crescent to be seen on the evening before. When the crescent is hard to see, those countries can start a day later, which is why friends in different places sometimes begin fasting on different days.

Why fasting hours change

A fast lasts from dawn to sunset, so its length depends on the season and on how far from the equator you are. In winter the days are short in the northern hemisphere and the fasts are too. The Ramadan countdown shows the days left until the expected start.