Next Leap Year
Find out when the next leap year is, how many days until February 29, and explore the leap year cycle with our countdown and reference table.
The Next Leap Year Is
What is a Leap Year?
A leap year is a year that contains an extra day — February 29 — making it 366 days long instead of the usual 365. This adjustment compensates for the fact that Earth's orbit around the Sun takes approximately 365.2422 days.
The rules for determining leap years in the Gregorian calendar are:
- A year divisible by 4 is a leap year.
- However, a year divisible by 100 is not a leap year.
- Unless the year is also divisible by 400, in which case it is a leap year.
For example: 2024 is a leap year (divisible by 4). 1900 was not a leap year (divisible by 100 but not 400). 2000 was a leap year (divisible by 400).
Upcoming Leap Years
2028
2032
2036
2040
2044
2048
2052
2056
2060
2064
2068
2072
2076
2080
2084
2088
2092
2096
2104
2108
Recent Past Leap Years
2024
2020
2016
2012
2008
2004
2000
1996
1992
1988
1984
1980
1976
1972
1968
The Tricky Century Rule
Century years (those ending in 00) are leap years only if they're also divisible by 400. This is what corrects the slight over-counting of the old Julian "every four years" rule. The table below shows how the rule plays out for the past and upcoming century years.
| Year | ÷ 4? | ÷ 100? | ÷ 400? | Leap? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1600 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Leap year |
| 1700 | Yes | Yes | No | Not a leap year |
| 1800 | Yes | Yes | No | Not a leap year |
| 1900 | Yes | Yes | No | Not a leap year |
| 2000 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Leap year |
| 2100 | Yes | Yes | No | Not a leap year |
| 2200 | Yes | Yes | No | Not a leap year |
| 2300 | Yes | Yes | No | Not a leap year |
| 2400 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Leap year |
Notable Leap Year Moments in History
Great Britain and its colonies switched from Julian to Gregorian — September 1752 had only 19 days, and 1700 was retroactively treated as not a leap year.
The first "leap second" was added to UTC — a separate mechanism from leap years, but invented for the same reason: keeping our clocks aligned to Earth's actual rotation.
A "divisible by 400" leap year — the first one in 400 years and one of only three century leap years the Gregorian calendar has ever produced (1600, 2000, 2400).
The leap year the leap second was added mid-year (June 30), a rare double-adjustment year that affected scientific and financial systems worldwide.
The most recent leap year before the current cycle — February 29, 2024 fell on a Thursday.
Leap Year Facts
The odds of being born on February 29 are approximately 1 in 1,461 — the rarest common birthday.
There are about 5 million people worldwide who were born on a leap day.
The Gregorian calendar repeats exactly every 400 years, which contain exactly 97 leap years (not 100).
February 29 is also known as Leap Day or Bissextile Day, from the Latin bis sextus — "twice the sixth".
In some traditions (Bachelor's Day in Ireland), February 29 is the day when women can propose marriage to men.
Without leap years, after 700 years December would fall in the middle of Northern Hemisphere summer.
The Julian calendar had a leap year every 4 years with no exceptions — this over-corrected, and by 1582 the calendar had drifted 10 days off from the solar year.
When Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582, 10 days were simply skipped: October 4, 1582 was followed directly by October 15, 1582.
Frequently Asked Questions
Earth takes approximately 365.2422 days to orbit the Sun. Without leap years, the calendar would drift about 6 hours per year relative to the seasons. After 100 years, the calendar would be off by about 24 days. Leap years correct this drift by adding an extra day every four years.
A year is a leap year if: (1) it is divisible by 4, AND (2) it is NOT divisible by 100, UNLESS (3) it is also divisible by 400. So 2024 is a leap year (divisible by 4), 1900 was not (divisible by 100 but not 400), and 2000 was (divisible by 400).
People born on February 29 (called "leaplings" or "leap day babies") typically celebrate their birthday on February 28 or March 1 in non-leap years. Legally, the treatment varies by jurisdiction — some countries consider March 1 the official birthday in non-leap years, while others use February 28.