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The two-day weekend has become the global standard, yet Somaliland stands nearly alone in maintaining a single weekly day of rest. Only Djibouti, Iran, Somalia, and Libya currently observe a Friday-only weekend. Nearly every other country, including almost all Muslim-majority nations, has concluded that five days of work followed by two days of rest better serves workers, families, businesses, and the broader economy.
My conviction that Somaliland should join them was not born in an economics textbook. It came while standing in some of the most breathtaking landscapes our country has to offer.
On one of the many occasions when I had the great fortune of witnessing the pristine beauty of Gudmo Biyo Cas, I found myself wondering why every Somalilander has not enjoyed this privilege. On some of these trips I was travelling with then Minister of Employment, Family and Social Affairs, Hon. Alhan Mohamed Jama. I advised her that she should pursue the creation of a two-day weekend in cabinet so that everyone else could experience the sights we had just witnessed.
I felt the same sense of awe while travelling from Hargeisa to Erigavo via the coastal route, passing Ceel Daraad, Takhaida, Shalacow, Dabqadood, Xiis, and Maydh. The feeling returned during a memorable overnight stay in Ceel Sheekh, a weekend getaway to Bulxaar from Hargeisa, and an overnight trip with friends to the stunning Gacan Libaax Mountains, among many other journeys I was fortunate to experience while living in Somaliland.
These places possess such extraordinary natural beauty that they would attract thousands of weekend visitors if they were located almost anywhere else in the world. Yet in Somaliland, the average citizen has only a single day off each week.
Raised in Canada, I have experienced firsthand what a true weekend makes possible. During the winter, two days off make ski trips to the mountains a normal part of life. In the summer, they allow families to go camping or glamping, head to the beach, explore provincial and national parks, enjoy cottage country, and travel across the country for short getaways. Canadians routinely spend weekends discovering new places, visiting friends and relatives in other cities, or simply escaping into nature before returning home refreshed for the workweek. That rhythm of life exists because people have sufficient time to both travel and recover.
By contrast, in Somaliland, that precious single day rarely permits anything beyond the immediate demands of daily life. Embarking on a meaningful adventure is largely impossible. Instead, families are often limited to going out for dinner, taking the children to a local play spot, shopping, catching up on household responsibilities, pursuing a hobby, or simply recovering from an exhausting workweek.
This is not merely a question of leisure. It is a question of economic policy.
The modern two-day weekend emerged in 1926 when Henry Ford closed his factories on Saturdays and Sundays, recognizing that rested workers were more productive and that leisure time encouraged consumer spending. During the decades that followed, industrialized nations steadily adopted the five-day workweek as both economic evidence and worker welfare pointed in the same direction.
China provides one of the strongest examples of this evolution. In 1995, it became one of the last major economies to abandon the six-day workweek and adopt a nationwide five-day schedule. The reform was designed not only to improve workers’ quality of life but also to stimulate domestic consumption and tourism. It was later reinforced through the introduction of Golden Week holidays, which transformed domestic travel into one of the world’s largest tourism markets. Since 1995, China’s economy has expanded from roughly US$735 billion to well over US$18 trillion. Hundreds of millions of people entered the middle class, while the services, retail, and tourism sectors experienced extraordinary growth. Although many reforms contributed to China’s economic rise, the standardized two-day weekend became an important part of building a modern consumer economy.
The same principle has guided reforms across the Muslim world. Saudi Arabia, a nation with deep religious traditions, changed its weekend in 2013, moving from Thursday-Friday to Friday-Saturday. The royal decree explicitly cited the need to align with international business cycles, increase overlap with global trading partners, and capture lost economic opportunities while fully preserving Friday as the principal day of worship.
Somaliland now has the opportunity to follow this well-established path. Adopting a Friday-Saturday weekend would deliver measurable gains in workforce health, productivity, domestic tourism, money circulation, youth employment, and national cohesion, all while respecting the sanctity of Friday prayers. It would also further distinguish Somaliland from Somalia through another practical institutional reform.
The benefits of a two-day weekend are not theoretical. Across decades and continents, countries that standardized weekly rest consistently experienced tangible improvements. By the middle of the twentieth century, most industrialized nations had embraced the five-day workweek. The reasoning was straightforward: workers who recover properly return sharper, make fewer mistakes, and sustain higher levels of productivity over time. Chronic fatigue from insufficient rest undermines performance, a reality repeatedly confirmed by modern research.
More recent experiments reinforce the same conclusion. When Microsoft Japan tested a four-day workweek, productivity increased by 40 percent. Similar trials in the United Kingdom, Iceland, and other countries have consistently found lower absenteeism, stronger morale, and improved productivity. While these studies examine an even shorter workweek, they reinforce the same foundational principle: adequate weekly rest is not a luxury. It is a productivity multiplier.
The economic effects extend far beyond the workplace. A two-day weekend creates opportunities for short domestic trips, family outings, dining out, shopping, and local entertainment. Around the world, domestic tourism generates trillions of dollars in annual spending and supports millions of jobs. Countries with strong weekend cultures develop vibrant hospitality, transportation, retail, and tourism sectors. Students and part-time workers fill weekend shifts in cafés, restaurants, markets, hotels, and tourist attractions, gaining valuable income and work experience while helping businesses expand their operating hours profitably.
These lessons are particularly relevant to Somaliland.
Somaliland’s economy has been built on resilience. Livestock exports, remittances, and the strategic Berbera Port remain the backbone of economic activity. Through its partnership with DP World, Berbera Port and its surrounding economic zone have undergone significant expansion, creating thousands of jobs and contributing substantially to national economic growth. An emerging services sector and a young, rapidly growing population provide additional foundations for future prosperity. Yet despite possessing remarkable natural and historical attractions, domestic tourism remains largely untapped.
Imagine the difference that a guaranteed Saturday off would make. It would eventually create the possibility of long weekends, something virtually unheard of in Somaliland today, and allow many more Somalilanders to experience places such as Gudmo Biyo Cas that I have been fortunate enough to visit. Port operations, logistics, government institutions, and private businesses all benefit from employees who are properly rested. In a developing economy where many people work six long days each week, accumulated fatigue inevitably reduces efficiency and increases costly mistakes. A proper weekend allows workers to recover physically and mentally, strengthening productivity across critical sectors, including Berbera’s expanding trade corridor to Ethiopia and beyond.
A Friday-Saturday weekend fundamentally changes that calculation. Short trips to the coast, excursions into the mountains, visits to Laas Geel, or overnight stays in places such as Ceel Sheekh become realistic. Families spend money on transport, restaurants, accommodation, guides, and local businesses. That money circulates throughout the economy. Restaurants become busier, guesthouses attract more customers, transportation services expand, and new small businesses emerge.
As demand for weekend travel grows, so too would the need for improved domestic transportation. Regular coach services, shuttle operators, rental vehicles, and eventually city-hopper flights connecting Hargeisa with Berbera, Erigavo, Borama, Las Anod, and other destinations could become commercially viable. Easier domestic travel would do more than stimulate tourism. It would allow families separated by distance to visit one another more often, strengthen ties between Somaliland’s regions, and foster a greater sense of national unity by making it easier for citizens to experience the country beyond their own hometowns.
Around the world, domestic tourism has repeatedly proven to be a powerful engine of local economic development because weekend travel keeps spending within the country, supports transportation networks, and strengthens communities.
Young people also stand to benefit. Students and other young Somalilanders would gain greater access to part-time employment in hospitality, retail, and tourism. In a country with a youthful population and ambitions for economic diversification, this means more than additional income. It provides valuable work experience, entrepreneurial opportunities, and a stronger stake in a growing leisure economy.
As Somaliland continues strengthening its role through the Berbera Corridor, engagement with global partners, and participation in regional trade initiatives, adopting a standard Friday-Saturday weekend would also reduce unnecessary friction in trade, finance, diplomacy, and business. Many international partners already operate on Friday-Saturday or Saturday-Sunday schedules. Greater overlap creates smoother communication, faster transactions, and improved commercial coordination.
The case for reform extends beyond economics.
Two days of weekly rest strengthen families and communities. Due to the widespread use of qat among many men in Somaliland, Thursday evenings are often devoted to chewing qat, followed by much of Friday being lost to fatigue or recovery. This leaves less meaningful time for families to spend together. A second day of rest gives parents more quality time with their children, creates greater opportunities for community activities, and allows citizens to explore their country’s remarkable natural and historical heritage. Shared experiences strengthen both national pride and social cohesion.
Importantly, Somaliland can adopt a Friday-Saturday weekend without compromising the religious significance of Friday. Saudi Arabia demonstrated that this balance is entirely achievable. Implementation could be phased, with government institutions leading the transition while encouraging private-sector adoption through incentives or practical guidelines. Since many businesses already close or operate reduced hours on Friday, adding Saturday simply extends an existing pattern rather than creating an entirely new one.
The costs of maintaining the status quo are significant. Continuing with a one-day weekend limits human potential and constrains precisely those sectors, including tourism, transportation, services, and trade facilitation, that offer Somaliland its greatest opportunities for diversified and sustainable growth. Somaliland has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to build strong institutions and pursue pragmatic reforms despite extraordinary challenges. Joining the overwhelming global consensus on the two-day weekend would not represent imitation. It would represent strategic modernization grounded in decades of international experience.
The evidence is overwhelming. Across cultures, political systems, and levels of economic development, nations have concluded that a two-day weekend is not merely an employee benefit but an investment in productivity, stronger families, vibrant local economies, domestic tourism, and long-term prosperity.
One day, I hope Somaliland’s city-slickers will finish work on Thursday, head home, and set off with their families in their own vehicles. I hope they will pray Friday prayer in a different town, experience the sights and sounds of unfamiliar places, and wake on Saturday to explore even more before returning home in the evening. I hope families from every corner of Somaliland will also be able to board short domestic flights or travel by road simply to spend a weekend together. Those journeys would not merely create memories. They would strengthen businesses, support jobs, deepen national unity, and allow Somalilanders to discover the beauty of the country they call home.
A simple policy reform, one additional day of rest, can unlock higher productivity, stronger local businesses, greater opportunities for young people, and a deeper appreciation of Somaliland’s extraordinary natural and cultural heritage. The world embraced this transition decades ago. Somaliland should not be one of the last places left behind.
About the Author
Mr. Aar Kaiser is an Associate Editor at Somaliland Chronicle.
