Saint James's Day / National Day of Galicia
The Day of Saint James the Apostle is celebrated every 25 July. The Official State Gazette lists it as a substitutable national holiday; in 2026 only Galicia and the Basque Country keep it, and in Galicia it coincides with the National Day of Galicia.
Substitutable national holiday
25 July 2026
4,955,511
The Official State Gazette lists it as a substitutable national holiday: each community decides whether to keep or replace it. In 2026 it is a holiday in: Galicia and País Vasco.
Verified data
Saint James's Day / National Day of Galicia in the working calendar
In 2026, Saint James's Day / National Day of Galicia is recorded as a substitutable national holiday on 25 July 2026. The calendars included in the dataset apply it in Galicia and País Vasco, covering 4,955,511 residents in the 2025 register.
This comparison uses only the official working calendars incorporated into the dataset for each year.
| Year | Main date | Where recorded | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 25 July 2024 | Cantabria, Comunidad de Madrid, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, Galicia and País Vasco | 13,205,421 |
| 2025 | 25 July 2025 | Comunidad de Madrid, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, Galicia and País Vasco | 12,776,042 |
| 2026 | 25 July 2026 | Galicia and País Vasco | 4,955,511 |
Demographic profile
Demographics of the covered population
Age, citizenship, birthplace and average-age structure from the 2025 Annual Population Census.
51.6% / 48.4%
11.3%
63%
25.7%
8.1%
13.2%
47.6 years
How it differs from its surroundings
Comparison with Spain. All five comparisons are population-weighted and use only the 2025 Annual Census. A positive sign means the covered population has a higher value than the benchmark.
| Demographic profile | Covered population | Compared with Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0–14 | 11.3% | -1.6 pp |
| Aged 65+ | 25.7% | +4.9 pp |
| Foreign citizenship | 8.1% | -5.9 pp |
| Born outside Spain | 13.2% | -6.1 pp |
| Weighted mean age | 47.6 years | +3.1 years |
The largest difference from Spain is in “Born outside Spain”: -6.1 pp.
Sex comes from the 2025 municipal register; all other metrics come from the 2025 Annual Census. Each percentage uses the total from its own statistical operation. INE municipal tables 68535 and 68541.
What is Saint James's Day / National Day of Galicia
St. James the Apostle Day remembers St. James the Greater, one of the apostles of Jesus and a central figure in Christian tradition. In Spain its name has been linked for centuries to Santiago de Compostela, one of the great pilgrimage destinations in Europe. The date has a double dimension: religious, due to the apostle's festivity, and cultural, due to its historical importance in Galicia and on the Camino de Santiago.
In Galicia, 25 July is also celebrated as National Day of Galicia, a day that unites religious tradition, Galician culture, institutional events and popular celebrations. Santiago de Compostela becomes the symbolic center of the day, with full streets, music and a strong presence of the Camino.
The Camino de Santiago, the network of routes that for centuries has taken pilgrims from all over Europe to Compostela, is one of the reasons why this date is so well known. The Official State Gazette lists it as a substitutable national holiday: in 2026 only Galicia and the Basque Country keep it; other communities replace it with another day, though in some municipalities it may also appear as a local holiday.
It commemorates Saint James the Greater, patron saint of Spain, whose tomb is venerated in Santiago de Compostela.
Other holidays
Per-municipality data with its official source (regional gazette). Every date is verifiable on the municipality page. Data from festivos.io — CC BY 4.0.