How Many Weeks in a Year?

Be very honest, place a hand over your heart, and question yourself: Have you truly ever wondered How Many Weeks in a Year? Why didn’t you ever feel the need? Is it even important to know the answer to this question?

Life comes by and passes by. And most of us spend our days stuck to the small divisions of the day, i.e., the 24-hour clock. As the clocks tick by, the most we consider is the completion of a certain set of days or months. Little do we focus on the division between days and months, i.e., weeks.

Or let’s say, you have questioned that earlier. But did you ever verify your deductions? Because let us inform you, that the math of this is not as easy as it appears.

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 is this the 10^th week of the year? Or 12^th or maybe 15^th?

Today, we will not only get our exact and accurate answer to that question, but we will also discover what more lies in the very concept. So, let’s get started!

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.

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.

Where does We Need Numbered Weeks?

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 in the 2^nd 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 3^rd 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. 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.

How to Calculate the Week Number?

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.

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.

ISO Numbering Method

So, since all the discussion, you have been wondering about how the ISO calculates 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 the 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 vary 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.

Numbering the Weeks

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.

How Many Weeks in a Year?

Just in case you’re in an utter hurry, here’s your quick takeaway:

One year = 52 weeks

But if you have time, let us explain why there aren’t 48 weeks, given that each of the 12 months has four weeks each. Let’s first have a look at this phenomenon in terms of mathematics:

Mathematical Explanation:

1 Year = 365 Days

365 Days ÷ 7 Days = 52.143 Weeks

52.143 Weeks = 52 weeks + 1 day

Note: Here, seven days represent a week. Although generally, a week includes every single day from Monday to Sunday sequentially. But it’s not always in the same order. A week refers to a set of seven days in any order (Here’s an example: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.)

But that mathematical representation went a bit over your head. Didn’t it? We can’t insert four extra weeks in the year (probably the 13th month) only because of the calculations. Can we? Certainly, we can’t. For this very reason, it is important to understand the length of a month first.

There are three different lengths of a month:

• 30 days, which is equivalent to 4 weeks and two days. These include April, June, September, and November.
• 31 days, which is equivalent to 4 weeks and three days. These include January, March, May, July, August, October, and December.
• 28 days, which is equivalent to 4 weeks. Only February has 28 days.

Generally, we can say:

1 Month = 4 1/3 week

Now that we know the general rule of the length of a month. We can use it to calculate the fraction of the year that each type of month represents. Hence, we can put logic into the calculation above.

• For months with 30 days: 4 1/3 x 4  = 52/3
• For months with 31 days: 4 1/3 x 7 = 91/3
• For months with 28 days: 4 1/3 x 1 = 13/3

According to mathematical rules, we will add all the fractional values to obtain our count of the week for the entire year.

• 52/3 + 91/3 + 13/3 = 156/3
• 156/3 = 52 Weeks.

Remember, this calculation only shows the number of weeks in a year and not the additional days.

But what about 48 weeks?

Well, despite reviewing the detailed mathematical explanation, the mind may still wonder about the 48 weeks. For that, let us view the question of How Many Weeks in a Year? from a different angle. Let’s have a look at the conceptual division.

If we were to have 48 weeks in a year with seven days a week, then we will only have 336 days instead of 365 days. That’s because:

48 weeks x 7 days (per week) = 336 days

Even if we increased a day in the week, we would still not achieve that 365-day figure in which the Earth completes its revolution around the sun. That’s because:

48 weeks x 8 days (per week) = 384 days

In either case, the only way to reach a 365-day figure is to alter the number of hours in each day. We could go with 26 hours per day or 22.8 hours per day. However, the fact is that the Earth completes its rotation concerning the Sun in a matter of 24 hours only. Thus, we cannot change that value either.

Leap Year VS Common Year

Another essential aspect that you need to both understand and consider when calculating the number of weeks per year is the concept of a leap year. A leap year refers to a year that has 366 days, while a common year has only 365 days. The additional day gets counted in February as the 29th of February. Also, such a year only comes after every four years. 2020 is also an example of a leap year.

But why is this so? Well, it occurs so because a leap year helps to synchronize the calendar to the time that earth takes to complete its revolution around the sun. In more accurate terms, Earth completes its revolution in 365 ¼ days. It equates to the complete span of a solar year.

Therefore in a leap year, we have 52 weeks and two days. On the contrary, a common year has 52 weeks and one day.

Understanding the Need

Lastly, let’s shed some light on what’s the fuss all about. Why do we even need to know how many weeks are there in a week? Why do we need to keep track of time?

Well, it’s because we need to get our life together! Without keeping track of time with precision, one can hardly complete a task, let alone achieve a goal. And if you think one can do that with only the 24-hour clock-based calculations solely, then you’re mistaken. To make your days worth living, you need to plan the big picture first. Visualize what is it that you need to achieve in life as a whole (that gives you 60 years on average after the prime youthful age).

Then, prepare a yearly breakdown of your goals. And then, gradually bring it to months and weeks. It’s best to plan your monthly goals at the start of the year, but it’s wiser to plan weeks at the start of the month. Hence, it’s important to know the count of the weeks you have.

Comparison of Table

Frequently Asked Question

Is the 52 weeks in a year?

Conclusion

Now you know the exact answer to How Many Weeks in a Year? We hope you also understand the logic. You shall now begin with planning your time. Remember, week planning is more important than anything else. That’s because the yearly and monthly planning seems more like a dream and a fantasy. But the weekly planning brings us closer to reality and motivates us to carry out the daily chores and take the baby steps.

Also, read about: How Many Square Feet in an Acre?