MAKKAH — The Ministry of Haj and Umrah has released the latest weekly statistics about Umrah pilgrimage on Thursday. The weekly report was compiled after accessing information such as the number of visas issued, number of pilgrims visiting the Kingdom via air, land or sea, and how many of them remained in Makkah and Madinah. According to the report, the number of Umrah visas issued until Jun. 20, 2019, reached 7,667,529 with the number of pilgrims who have arrived in the Kingdom from abroad by Thursday being 7,442,756. It said 271,409 pilgrims were still in the Kingdom, with 146,807 of them in Makkah and 124,602 in Madinah. As many as 7,171,347 pilgrims left Saudi Arabia after completing the Umrah this season, according to the weekly update. The weekly data also included the number of Saudi staff within Umrah companies and institutions. It said 10,952 Saudis including 9,068 males and 1,884 females were employed to serve the pilgrims. The bulk of the pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom via air while 709,914 entered the country by land entry points and 135,371 via seaports. According to the ministry, the highest number of pilgrims by nationality was from Pakistan, which sent 1,674,606 nationals to perform the minor pilgrimage. They were followed by 974,650 Indonesians, 652,322 Indians, 541,951 Egyptians, 365,754 Algerians, 339,493 Yemenis, 328,076 Turkish, 282,978 Iraqis, 279,902 Malaysians, and 216,537 Sudanese. The ministry launched the weekly indicator at the beginning of the current Hijri year to enable authorities to track the number of pilgrims coming into the Kingdom, and in turn, enrich their experiences by providing high-quality services. The initiative is one of the main programs of Saudi Vision 2030, which aspires to attract over 30 million Umrah pilgrims and provide them with excellent services and an outstanding experience annually.
