Leap Year List
The Gregorian calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, refined the leap year rules to make the calendar year more closely match the solar year. Here you can find a list of leaps years from 1582.
Leap year list from 1582
1584, 1588, 1592, 1596 and 1600
Leap year list from 1600 (17th century)
1600, 1604, 1608, 1612, 1616, 1620, 1624, 1628, 1632, 1636, 1640, 1644, 1648, 1652, 1656, 1660, 1664, 1668, 1672, 1676, 1680, 1684, 1688, 1692 and 1696
Leap year list from 1700 (18th century)
1704, 1708, 1712, 1716, 1720, 1724, 1728, 1732, 1736, 1740, 1744, 1748, 1752, 1756, 1760, 1764, 1768, 1772, 1776, 1780, 1784, 1788, 1792 and 1796
Leap year list from 1800 (19th century)
1804, 1808, 1812, 1816, 1820, 1824, 1828, 1832, 1836, 1840, 1844, 1848, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892 and 1896
Leap year list from 1900 (20th century)
1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000
Leap year list from 2000 (21st century)
2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032, 2036, 2040, 2044, 2048, 2052, 2056, 2060, 2064, 2068, 2072, 2076, 2080, 2084, 2088, 2092 and 2096
Leap year list in 22nd century
2104, 2108, 2112, 2116, 2120, 2124, 2128, 2132, 2136, 2140, 2144, 2148, 2152, 2156, 2160, 2164, 2168, 2172, 2176, 2180, 2184, 2188, 2192 2196
How often is a leap year: leap year rules
While we often associate leap years with the simple notion of adding an extra day to our calendars every four years, the story is not quite so straightforward. So, when is a leap year?
The general rule to determine leap years is that any given year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4. But there is an exception to this rule: years that are divisible by 100 are not leap years, unless they are also divisible by 400. This exception is in place to ensure that the calendar year stays relatively synchronized with the solar year over the long term.
So, to summarize, a leap year occours every four years with some exceptions, the exact leap year rules are:
- A year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4.
- However, years divisible by 100 are not leap years, unless they are also divisible by 400
Why is there a leap year
A leap year is introduced into the calendar system to account for the fact that the Earth's orbit around the sun is not exactly 365.25 days long. It's about 365.2422 days long. While this might seem like a minor difference, over time, those extra 0.2422 days accumulate, leading to a misalignment between the calendar year and the solar year.
To address this discrepancy, an extra day is added to the calendar every four years in the form of February 29th. This extra day helps to bring the calendar year closer to the length of the solar year. However, this adjustment still isn't perfect, which is why there are rules and exceptions in place (like the ones I mentioned earlier) to ensure that the calendar remains reasonably synchronized with the astronomical year over the long term.
How many days are there in a leap year
In a leap year, there are 366 days. This is because an extra day, February 29th, is added to the calendar to account for the fractional days that accumulate over the years and bring the calendar year closer to the length of the solar year. Regular years have 365 days, while leap years have 366 days.