| Millennium: | 1st millennium |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | |
| Decades: | |
| Years: |
| Gregorian calendar | 981 CMLXXXI |
| Ab urbe condita | 1734 |
| Armenian calendar | 430 ԹՎ ՆԼ |
| Assyrian calendar | 5731 |
| Bengali calendar | 388 |
| Berber calendar | 1931 |
| Buddhist calendar | 1525 |
| Burmese calendar | 343 |
| Byzantine calendar | 6489–6490 |
| Chinese calendar |
庚辰年 (Metal Dragon) 3677 or 3617 — to — 辛巳年 (Metal Snake) 3678 or 3618 |
| Coptic calendar | 697–698 |
| Discordian calendar | 2147 |
| Ethiopian calendar | 973–974 |
| Hebrew calendar | 4741–4742 |
| Hindu calendars | |
| - Vikram Samvat | 1037–1038 |
| - Shaka Samvat | 902–903 |
| - Kali Yuga | 4081–4082 |
| Holocene calendar | 10981 |
| Iranian calendar | 359–360 |
| Islamic calendar | 370–371 |
| Japanese calendar |
Tengen 4 (天元4年) |
| Javanese calendar | 882–883 |
| Julian calendar | 981 CMLXXXI |
| Korean calendar | 3314 |
| Minguo calendar | 931 before ROC 民前931年 |
| Nanakshahi calendar | −487 |
| Seleucid era | 1292/1293 AG |
| Thai solar calendar | 1523–1524 |
Year 981 (CMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.