Why does the Ethiopian year differ from the Gregorian by 7 or 8 years?

The Ethiopian calendar (Amete Mihret) counts from a different reckoning of the Annunciation, so its year is about 7 to 8 years behind the Gregorian year. It has 12 months of 30 days plus a 13th month, Pagume, of 5 days (6 in a leap year).

How accurate is the conversion?

It uses the standard Ethiopian arithmetic — leap when the year mod 4 equals 3 — pivoting through the Julian Day Number, so conversions are exact and round-trip perfectly. The same rules apply to the Eritrean calendar.

Does my date leave my browser?

No. The converter is privacy-first — every calculation runs locally in your browser and nothing is sent or stored.

How many months does the Ethiopian calendar have?

Thirteen. Twelve months of exactly 30 days each, plus a short 13th month called Pagume of 5 days, or 6 days in a leap year. This is why Ethiopia is sometimes described as having "13 months of sunshine."

When does the Ethiopian new year fall?

Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash), the 1st of Meskerem, falls on 11 September in the Gregorian calendar, or 12 September in the year before a Gregorian leap year.

How do I convert an Ethiopian year to a Gregorian year?

Add roughly 7 to 8 years. Before the Ethiopian new year (around 11 September) add 8; on or after it add 7. So Ethiopian year 2018 corresponds to late 2025 into 2026 Gregorian.

When is an Ethiopian leap year?

An Ethiopian year is a leap year when the year number divided by 4 leaves a remainder of 3. In a leap year Pagume has 6 days instead of 5. The Ethiopian leap day precedes the Gregorian one by several months.

Does this also work for the Eritrean calendar?

Yes. Eritrea uses the same Ge'ez calendar with identical month lengths and leap rules, so every conversion here applies equally to Eritrean dates.

Ethiopian Calendar Converter

Ethiopian calendar converter

The Ethiopian calendar (Amete Mihret, “Year of Mercy”), also called the Ge’ez calendar, runs about 7 to 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar and is still in everyday use in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Its distinctive feature is a 13th month. This tool converts any date between the Gregorian and Ethiopian systems in both directions, including dates that fall in the short month Pagume.

How it works

The Ethiopian year has 12 months of exactly 30 days plus Pagume, a 13th month of 5 days (6 in a leap year). A year is a leap year when year mod 4 == 3. Rather than juggling these rules directly, the converter pivots through the Julian Day Number — a continuous count of days used in astronomy — converting your input to a JDN and then out to the target calendar. This makes conversions exact and guarantees a value round-trips back to itself. The weekday is derived from the same JDN.

Example

Ethiopian New Year, 1 Meskerem 2018, converts to 11 September 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. Going the other way, 11 September 2025 returns 1 Meskerem 2018, confirming the round-trip.

Feature	Ethiopian calendar
Months	13 (12 × 30 days + Pagume)
Pagume length	5 days, 6 in leap years
Leap rule	year mod 4 == 3
New year	~11 September Gregorian
Offset from Gregorian	7–8 years behind

It is privacy-first: nothing leaves your browser.