The General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia announced that the number of pilgrims this year has exceeded 899,000.
The authority revealed that 87 percent of the pilgrims came from outside Saudi Arabia, with approximately 780,000 pilgrims, while the number of domestic pilgrims reached more than 119,000.
The authority explained in statement 54 percent of the pilgrims were males, and the number exceeded 486,000, and regarding 413,000 pilgrims were women.
In the details of the countries from which the pilgrims came, it showed that 21 percent of the pilgrims were citizens of Arab countries, 54 percent of the citizens of Asian countries, 13 percent of pilgrims from African countries, and 12 percent of European countries, the United States and Australia.
739,000 pilgrims entered Saudi Arabia through the Kingdom’s air ports, 35,000 pilgrims entered through land ports, and just over 6,000 pilgrims from sea ports.
The authority indicated that the number of manpower that contributed to serving the pilgrims reached 229,000 people, of whom 117,000 people work permanently, and the rest are during the Hajj season only.
More than 21,000 people work in health services during the Hajj season, as regarding 300 emergency surgeries were performed during the Hajj rituals, ranging from catheterization, childbirth and other medical operations.
The quantities of water consumed during the Hajj days amounted to regarding 20.7 million cubic meters, while more than 5.7 liters of Zamzam water were distributed to pilgrims.
The pilgrims spent Friday praying and praying on Mount Arafat, at the height of the pilgrimage, which gathered this year the largest number of pilgrims since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, which prevented hundreds of thousands from participating in the past two years, according to AFP.
The Hajj season is taking place this year at a time when the Corona virus has re-spread in the region, while some Gulf countries are tightening their restrictions to prevent its spread.
All pilgrims arriving from abroad are required to be fully vaccinated and to show a negative result for the coronavirus test. Upon their arrival in Mina on Thursday, they were handed bags containing masks and sterilizers.
The Hajj is usually one of the largest annual religious gatherings in the world, and it is among the five pillars of Islam, and every Muslim who is able to perform it must perform it at least once.
