We often think about the present date in different terms. Some people like to remember days in the lunar calendar, some people have their own ways of remembrance. But the calendar that is officially followed all over the world is the Georgian Calendar, the one we have been following since our birth. We often ask ourselves or our co-mates during early office hours or we ask the same question at the breakfast table, “What date is today?” or at times we ask “It’s Wednesday right?”. We all know very well that Thursday is the fourth day of the weekend and January is the first month. Little do we know what week of the year is this in terms of numbers like is this the 10th week of the year? Or 12th or maybe 15th?
Numbering the Weeks
Table of Contents
Since our school life, we have been learning that an average year has 52 weeks. While we count up the extra day of a year and add it every 4 years in a leap year cycle it gives a calendar of 53 weeks so on average, we can say that a year consists of 52 or 53 weeks that totally depends upon the year.
Where Do We Need Numbered Weeks?
If you are associated with any educational institute or management department of your office, you might be probably aware of weeks numbering. Just as we were in school, the progress card has labeled week-1 assessment marks and week-5 activity grades, etc. It was basically the weeks of a year divided according to the class session. Some institutes follow and number the weeks according to their session.
For example, if the session starts at the 2nd week of march, then that week will be their week 1. But in the majority of the cases, the weeks are numbered according to the calendar, for example, A session starts at the 3rd week of January, they’ll name it week-3, and so on. So, when we talk about the numbering of weeks, we need them everywhere, from educational institutes to offices and production units, etc. That’s why we need to know what week of the year is this.
What Week of the Year is This?
While planning and projecting you might need to go through this question again and again asking yourself as well as your mates. For the simplest answer, Today, on April 4, 2020, we can say that we are on week 14. According to a calendar week, 14 lasts from Monday, March 30, 2020, until Sunday, April 5, 2020, which is also included.
How to Calculate the Week Number?
If you are thinking and worried about calculating the weeks all by yourself by counting days on the calendar, worry no more because ISO has got your back. ISO stands for international organization for standardization. This organization has a calendar system for a leap week. It was formed in 1977 and after that, there have been almost three revisions in the calendar in 1988, 2004, and 2015. The previous name of ISO was “Industrial date coding”. With the help of ISO numbered weeks, you can easily figure out what week of the year is this.
ISO Numbering Method
So, since all the discussion, you have been wondering about how the ISO calculates or the number of weeks. Well, an ISO year has 52 or 53 weeks or commonly called full weeks. Which is 364 days in the case of 52 weeks and 371 in the case of 53 weeks whereas a normal year has either 365 or 366 days (In case of leap year Only). The above-mentioned extra week is usually known as the leap week.
ISO VS Georgian Calendar
The ISO week-year number veers off from the Gregorian year number in one of three different ways. The days varying are a Friday through Sunday, or a Saturday and Sunday, or only a Sunday, toward the beginning of the Gregorian year (which are toward the finish of the past ISO year) and a Monday through Wednesday, or a Monday and Tuesday, or only a Monday, toward the finish of the Gregorian year (which are in week 01 of the following ISO year). In the period 4 January to 28 December, the ISO week-year number is constantly equivalent to the Gregorian year number. The equivalent is valid for each Thursday.
Comparison of Table
| Sr. No | English Date (Short) | ISO | |
| 1 | Sat 1 Jan 2005 | 2005-01-01 | 2004-W53-6 |
| 2 | Sun 2 Jan 2005 | 2005-01-02 | 2004-W53-7 |
| 3 | Sat 31 Dec 2005 | 2005-12-31 | 2005-W52-6 |
| 4 | Sun 1 Jan 2006 | 2006-01-01 | 2005-W52-7 |
| 5 | Mon 2 Jan 2006 | 2006-01-02 | 2006-W01-1 |
| 6 | Sun 31 Dec 2006 | 2006-12-31 | 2006-W52-7 |
| 7 | Mon 1 Jan 2007 | 2007-01-01 | 2007-W01-1 |
| 8 | Sun 30 Dec 2007 | 2007-12-30 | 2007-W52-7 |
| 9 | Mon 31 Dec 2007 | 2007-12-31 | 2008-W01-1 |
| 10 | Tue 1 Jan 2008 | 2008-01-01 | 2008-W01-2 |
| 11 | Sun 28 Dec 2008 | 2008-12-28 | 2008-W52-7 |
| 12 | Mon 29 Dec 2008 | 2008-12-29 | 2009-W01-1 |
| 13 | Tue 30 Dec 2008 | 2008-12-30 | 2009-W01-2 |
| 14 | Wed 31 Dec 2008 | 2008-12-31 | 2009-W01-3 |
| 15 | Thu 1 Jan 2009 | 2009-01-01 | 2009-W01-4 |
| 16 | Thu 31 Dec 2009 | 2009-12-31 | 2009-W53-4 |
| 17 | Fri 1 Jan 2010 | 2010-01-01 | 2009-W53-5 |
| 18 | Sat 2 Jan 2010 | 2010-01-02 | 2009-W53-6 |
| 19 | Sun 3 Jan 2010 | 2010-01-03 | 2009-W53-7 |
ISO Following Countries
Like everything else in the world, the ISO system has certain followers like Japan, China, Korea, Iran, etc. However, the US and Canada are not followers of ISO week rather they include Sunday as the first day of the week. That’s why the gift calendars from our friends and relatives living in different countries vary from each other.
Other Ways of Calculating Week Numbers
Besides following an ISO calendar from any internet site, you can calculate the week number in your own way. There are certain web-based online and offline applications as well as software that might help you catch up with the current week number. These software applications have an algorithm that follows with the help of certain coding languages. All you need to do is to find the perfect application for your smart device and find the week number whenever you feel like it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is your favorite way to mark the week of the year?
There are a few different ways that people commonly use to mark the week of the year. For some, it is simply remembering which day of the week it is and knowing that this corresponds to a certain number. Others may use a more sophisticated method, such as keeping track of the days on a calendar or using a special notebook.
What calendar system do you use to track the week of the year?
There are a few different calendar systems that people use to track the week of the year. The most common one is the Gregorian calendar, which is used by most countries in the world. However, there are also other calendar systems, such as the Julian calendar and the Islamic calendar. Each of these calendar systems has its own way of numbering the weeks of the year.
Conclusion
Whenever you are planning an activity, always remember to divide it in terms of weeks per year. This will not only help you organize your own tasks but also keep up with the current week of the year so that you could easily recall what week of the year is this.
Also, Read about: Do you know how many days in a year?