Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH — Saudi Arabia received 2,183,013 Umrah pilgrims till Thursday since the start of the season, the Ministry of Haj and Umrah said in its weekly bulletin on pilgrimage data.

The number of Umrah visas issued by various Saudi missions reached 2,555,201 until 27th of Rabi Al-Thani (Jan. 3).

The ministry said 1,774,420 pilgrims left the country after completing the Umrah rituals while 408,611 of them are in Makkah and Madinah.

The weekly data also gave a breakdown of the number of Saudi employees working with Umrah companies and institutions. They include 8,070 males and 1,668 females.

Most pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom via air while 184,580 entered the country by land entry points and 7,003 via seaports.

According to the ministry, the highest number of pilgrims by nationality was from Pakistan, which sent 600,015 pilgrims. They were followed by 394,027 Indonesians, 281,589 Indians, 130,793 Malaysians, 113,247 Yemenis, 83,299 Algerians, 63,217 Egyptians, 60,086 Turkish, 56,412 Emiratis and 52,848 Bangladeshis.

The weekly indicator was launched by the ministry to enable various agencies to track the number of pilgrims in the Kingdom, and in turn, enrich their experiences by providing high-quality services.

The indicator focuses on four main aspects, which are the number of issued visas, the number of pilgrims arriving in the Kingdom via air, land and sea, the number of pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah, and the number of pilgrims leaving the Kingdom after completing the rituals.

The weekly indicator launched by the ministry at the start of the current Hijri year is in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aspires to attract over 30 million Umrah pilgrims annually and provide them with excellent services and an outstanding experience.