Use this leap year calculator to easily check if a given year is a leap year or not, and to count and list all leap years in a selected time period. E.g. check if 2024 is a leap year, or list all leap years between 1980 and 2030.
Quick navigation:
- How to use the leap year calculator
- What is a leap year
- What is the next leap year?
How to check if a given year is a leap yearList of leap years How to use the leap year calculator
The calculator can be used in two main modes: to check if a given year is a leap year and to list all leap years in a given time range. To use it as a leap year checker, simply type in the year of interest, say 2024, and press calculate.
To use it as a leap year counter or to list all leap years between two years, switch to "All leap years between two years", enter a start and end year, and press the button. A count of the leap years will be shown, and a list of all leap years will be presented below.
Finally, you can use it to simply display the next leap year by switching the mode to "The next leap year" state.
What is a leap year
A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day. This extra day is added to keep the calendar year in sync with the astronomical year or seasonal year which in itself is determined by astronomical events, namely the rotation of the Earth around the Sun. Calendars that have a constant number of days in each year (e.g. 365 for the Gregorean calendar) would exhibit a drift relative to these events if not for the extra day roughly every four years. For example, without leap years the beginning of the winter season in the Northern hemisphere would slowly shift and no longer be on Dec 21-22.
The term "leap year" probably comes from the fact that typically, in a leap year, the day of the week on any given date would shift by skipping one day. E.g. Christmas Day (December 25) would fall on advancing days of the week each year: Monday, Tuesday... However, on a leap year it will skip a day. For example, instead of Wednesday it would fall on Thursday, as would happen in the year 2024 of the Gregorian calendar system.
What is the next leap year?
The next leap year of the Gregorian calendar is the year 2024. In 2024, there will be Summer Olympic games in Paris starting on Jul 26. There will also be a UEFA Euro 2024 football championship (soccer, as it is also known in the U.S.). In the United States there will be a Presidential election - the 60th quadrennial presidential election to be precise.
How to check if a given year is a leap year
While there is no leap year formula, there is a simple algorithm that can be followed to determine if a given year is a leap year or a common year. The algorithm consists of the following steps:
- Check if the year can be divided by 4 without a remainder. If it cannot, it is not a leap year. Otherwise, proceed to (2).
- Check if the year can be divided by 100 without a remainder. If it cannot, then it is a leap year. Otherwise, proceed to (3).
- Check if the year can be divided by 400 without a remainder. If it cannot, then it is not a leap year. Otherwise, it is a leap year.
A division without a remainder is also called "evenly divisible". E.g. from the above rule we can see that if a year is not evenly divisible by 4, it is a common year.
If you find the above steps difficult to follow, just use our calculator to easily perform a leap year check. It is also super useful if you need to compute the number of leap years in a period, or to get a list of all leap years in a given time range.
List of leap years
These are all leap years between the years 1900 and 2050:
1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032, 2036, 2040, 2044, 2048
To get a leap year list for any time period, just use the leap year calculator in the respective mode.
FAQs
Any year that is evenly divisible by 4 is a leap year: for example, 1988, 1992, and 1996 are leap years.
How is a leap year calculated answer? ›
A leap year has 366 days (the extra day is the 29th of February), and it comes after every four years. To check if a year is a leap year, divide the year by 4. If it is fully divisible by 4, it is a leap year. For example, the year 2016 is divisible 4, so it is a leap year, whereas, 2015 is not.
How do you calculate the number of leap years between years? ›
Concept used: Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100, but these centurial years are leap years if they are exactly divisible by 400. For example, the years 1700, 1800, 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are leap years.
How to calculate if a year will be a leap year? ›
To be a leap year, the year number must be divisible by four – except for end-of-century years, which must be divisible by 400. This means that the year 2000 was a leap year, although 1900 was not. 2024, 2028, 2032 and 2036 are all leap years.
What is the logic for checking leap year? ›
The rules for determining if a year is a leap year are as follows: If a year is evenly divisible by 4, 100, and 400, then it is a leap year. If a year is divisible by 4 but not by 100 and not divisible by 400, then it is also a leap year. If a year is not divisible by 4, then it is not a leap year.
Why is 2100 not a leap year? ›
Therefore, 800, 1200 and 2000 are leap years — but 1700, 1900 and 2100 are not, because even though they are divisible by four, they are not divisible by 400.
Why is 2024 not a leap year? ›
"The rule is that if the year is divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400, leap year is skipped.
Is 2024 a true or false leap year? ›
Here are some frequently asked questions about leap day and leap years: Is 2024 a leap year? Yes, 2024 is a leap year. It consists of 366 days instead of the usual 365 days.
What is the math rule for leap year? ›
This is how the Gregorian calendar calculates leap years: If the year is divisible by four, it's a leap year. But if the year can be divided by 100 as well as four, it's not a leap year. However, if the year is divisible by 400, it is a leap year.
How old is a leap year baby born in 1964? ›
1960: You'd be 60 years old or 15 (the legal age to get a learner's permit to drive in the U.S.). 1964: You'd be 56 years old or 14. 1968: You'd be 52 years old or 13. 1972: You'd be 48 years old or 12.
When it comes to legal documents, such as obtaining a passport or driver's license, the date February 29th is recognized as the official birthday for leaplings in most countries. However, some states in the U.S. allow the leapling to celebrate their birthday on either February 28th or March 1st on non-leap years.
What is the logic behind the leap year? ›
It takes Earth 365.242190 days to orbit the Sun, or 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 56 seconds. This “sidereal” year is slightly longer than the calendar year, and that extra 5 hours 48 minutes and 56 seconds needs to be accounted for somehow. If we didn't account for this extra time, the seasons would begin to drift.
Which month has 31 days? ›
In conclusion, there are 7 months in a year that have 31 days: January, March, May, July, August, October, and December. This pattern of months with 31 days repeats throughout the calendar year, interspersed with months that have 30 days and February, which typically has 28 days (29 in leap years).
How to calculate leap year age? ›
Legally, at least in both the UK and the US, and probably in most other countries, you actually become one year older on the day before your birthday, so someone born on March 1, 2004 and someone born on February 29, 2004, would turn one year old on February 28, 2005.
What is the rule for leap year? ›
This is how the Gregorian calendar calculates leap years: If the year is divisible by four, it's a leap year. But if the year can be divided by 100 as well as four, it's not a leap year. However, if the year is divisible by 400, it is a leap year.
How can you prove that 2000 is a leap year? ›
2000 is perfectly divisible by 400 , So, it is a leap year. Q. Check whether the year 1920 was a leap year.
How did we find out about leap year? ›
To fix his culture's calendar, Roman emperor Julius Caesar created the Year of Confusion when he decided that the year 46 B.C. was going to be 445 days long instead of 365 days long. He then made a 365.25-day year—a tiny bit longer than the 365.2422 solar year—that added a leap day every fourth year.
How does the government view leap year birthdays? ›
In the eyes of the government, someone born on Leap Day is considered a year older on March 1. Jim is also not alone in his family when it comes to being a leapling - his great niece shares his birthday and they are getting together today to celebrate. She is 12 today, or this is her third leap birthday!
