These two countries start Ramadan 2026 on February 20; here's why

As majority of the world begins Ramadan on February 18 and 19, there are two countries on the globe that will be kicking off the holy month of February 20.

The two countries — Fiji and New Zealand — decided on doing so after not spotting the Ramadan crescent on the evening of Wednesday, February 18, which corresponds to the 29th of Shaban.

Due to the non-sighting, both the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) and the Fiji Muslim League announced that Thursday, February 19, will complete the month of Shaban, and Friday, February 20, will be the first day of the holy month.

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Both the authorities clarified that according to astronomical calculations, it is clear that New Zealand and Fiji do not lie in areas from which the crescent could be sighted, neither with the naked eye nor using a telescope.

"And since the religious authorities in this region rely on the local sighting of the crescent, the aforementioned announcement has therefore been made," the respective statements added.Ramadan prayer timings

Meanwhile, among the countries around the world that started their first day of fasting on February 18 are the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Palestine and Sudan, and others.

On the other hand, countries starting the holy month on February 19 include Oman, Brunei, India, Pakistan and Egypt among others.