☪️ Ramadan Countdown
See how many days remain until the next Ramadan, with an estimated Gregorian start and end date.
Check a Specific Year (Optional)
Ramadan Status
The exact start of Ramadan is confirmed by moon sighting or official announcement from local Islamic authorities. This is a calculated estimate using the tabular Hijri calendar and may be off by a day from the officially announced date. Ramadan lasts 29 or 30 days depending on the sighting of the new moon.
How the Ramadan Countdown Is Calculated
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Hijri (Islamic lunar) calendar, the month of obligatory fasting for Muslims. This tool estimates its Gregorian start date using the tabular Islamic calendar.
Formula
2. Compute the Julian Day Number for 1 Ramadan (month 9, day 1) of the current Hijri year:
JDN = 1 + ceil(29.5 × 8) + (hijriYear − 1) × 354 + floor((3 + 11 × hijriYear) / 30) + 1948440 − 1
3. If that date has already passed this Hijri year, use next Hijri year's 1 Ramadan instead.
4. Convert the resulting JDN back to a Gregorian date using the standard inverse JDN algorithm.
5. Estimated end date = start date + 29 days (the minimum Islamic lunar month length); actual length is 29 or 30 days pending moon sighting.
Why This Is an Estimate, Not an Announcement
This tool computes 1 Ramadan using the same tabular (arithmetic) Hijri calendar used elsewhere on this site — a fixed 30-year cycle of 29- and 30-day months that approximates the true lunar cycle of about 29.53 days per month. Actual Islamic authorities instead confirm the start of Ramadan by local moon sighting or astronomical moonset calculations specific to their region, which can land a day earlier or later than the tabular estimate depending on visibility conditions and which authority's announcement is followed. That is why the estimated start and end dates shown above are always labeled "estimated" rather than treated as an official declaration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why might the actual Ramadan start date differ from this estimate?
Many Islamic authorities confirm the start of Ramadan through direct moon sighting or astronomical calculation announcements, which can shift the date by a day compared to the tabular calendar used here.
How long does Ramadan last?
Ramadan lasts either 29 or 30 days, determined by the sighting of the new moon (or calculation, depending on local practice) marking the start of Shawwal.
Does Ramadan fall on the same Gregorian date every year?
No. Because the Hijri calendar is lunar and about 11 days shorter than the Gregorian solar year, Ramadan shifts earlier by about 10-11 days each Gregorian year.