Start of Ramadan Fasting Across Countries: Saudi Arabia Today, Indonesia Tomorrow

Various countries have determined 1 Ramadan 1447 H/2026 based on calculations or crescent moon (hilal) observations in their respective regions. As a result, some countries have set 18 February as the start of Ramadan, whilst the majority of others have designated 19 February as 1 Ramadan.

The difference in determining the start of Ramadan occurs because the change of months in the Hijri calendar is marked by the sighting of the crescent moon (hilal). This means that countries which observed the hilal on Tuesday (17/2/2026) set Wednesday (18/2/2026) as 1 Ramadan 1447 H.

Meanwhile, countries where the hilal’s position did not meet the required criteria during the Tuesday (17/2) observation set 1 Ramadan to fall on Thursday (19/2/2026). The following is a summary of the start of Ramadan fasting in each country, as compiled on Wednesday (18/2/2026):

Countries that set 18 February 2026 as the start of Ramadan: - Saudi Arabia - Qatar - United Arab Emirates - Kuwait - Bahrain - Palestine - Sudan - Iraq - Canada - United States - Yemen - Lebanon

Countries that set 19 February 2026 as the start of Ramadan: - Indonesia - Malaysia - Singapore - Syria - Jordan - Pakistan - Iran - Tunisia - Oman - Turkey - Australia - Japan - France - Brunei Darussalam - Kazakhstan - Kyrgyzstan - Azerbaijan - Egypt - Morocco - Philippines - Uzbekistan