MAKKAH, June 16 — A total of 1,833,164 Muslims from all over the world are performing the haj pilgrimage this year, according to the General Authority for Statistics of the Saudi government.
This includes 958,137 male pilgrims and 875,027 female pilgrims.
It said 1,611,310 pilgrims are from external countries, while 221,854 are internal pilgrims.
“Pilgrims from Asian countries (excluding Arab countries) represent 63.3 per cent, Arab countries represent 22.3 per cent, African countries represent 11.3 per cent; while Europe, North, and South America and Australia represent 3.2 per cent,” said the General Authority in a document made available to the press today.
The highest number of pilgrim arrivals was through airports, with 1,546,345 people, followed by land ports (60,251), and seaports (4,714).
On the other hand, the number of pilgrims benefiting from the Makkah Route Initiative this year’s Haj season is 322,901 people.
It said collecting data supports decision-makers by providing detailed information to enhance pilgrim services.
“The statistics contribute to evaluating the services provided by entities responsible for serving the pilgrims,” said the General Authority.
— Bernama