The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah shared a statistical report for the month of Shaban (6 Apr. – 5 May. 2019) after accessing information such as the number of issued visas, footfall of pilgrims visiting the Kingdom, number of pilgrims leaving the Kingdom, and number of pilgrims still in the Kingdom. The number of pilgrims coming into the Kingdom until the end of Shaban for the year 1440H (5 May. 2019) is 6,136,139 pilgrims with an increase of 7% compared to Shaban in the last year wherein the number of coming pilgrims reached 5,719,398. Furthermore, the number of issued visas this year is 6,730,109 visas while last year it was 6,314,448 making a difference of 6%. Meanwhile, the number of pilgrims leaving the Kingdom this year is 5,589,537 pilgrims making an increase of 5% wherein only 5,324,906 pilgrims left the Kingdom during the same month last year. The number of pilgrims still in the Kingdom is 546,602 pilgrims who stayed on average in Makkah for 13 days and in Medina for 8 days. However, compared to the last year, the number of pilgrims who stayed in the Kingdom is 394,492 and stayed on average in Makkah for 9 days and in Medina for 5 days. Most pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom via air with a total of 5,486,345 pilgrims while 567,976 entered by the land entry point and 81,818 pilgrims via seaports. According to the Ministry, age categories of pilgrims are as the following: 426,986 pilgrims under 15 years, 439,835 pilgrims are between 15-24 years, 775,937 pilgrims are between 25-34 years, 993,922 pilgrims are between 35-44 years, 1,197,432 pilgrims are between 45-54 years, 1,293,615 pilgrims are between 55-64 years, 1,008,412 pilgrims are over 65 years. The data provided by the ministry also included the number of males and females. Male pilgrims are 3,190,533while female pilgrims are 3,539,576. Out of 6,730,109 visas, 2,155,231 pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom with their families and 4,574,878 pilgrims came into the Kingdom on their own. The highest number of pilgrims of various nationalities are 1,371,544 Pakistanis, 894,571 Indonesians, 595,429 Indians, 422,365 Egyptians, 292,498 Turkish, 274,109 Yemenis, 266,333 Algerians, 262,109 Malaysians, 231,342 Iraqis, and 169,529 Jordanians, as reported by the Ministry. The variety of nationalities entering the Kingdom played a role in the diversity of languages wherein 5 languages became top languages used in Umrah. They are Urdu, Malay, Indian, Arabic, and Turkish. "Umrah season is opened most of the year wherein more Muslims can visit and perform Umrah rituals," announced by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. The number of Saudi employees within Umrah companies and institutions has also marked a significant increase of 120% this year compared to last year. This year, there are 10,713 employees including 8,862 males and 1,851 females while in Shaban last year was only 4,865 employees including 4,220 males and 645 females. At the beginning of the Hijri year 1440, the ministry launched the Umrah weekly indicator to focus on 4 main aspects which are the number of issued visas, the total number of pilgrims arriving in the Kingdom via air, land, and seaports, number of pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah, and the number of pilgrims leaving the Kingdom after completing Umrah rituals. As for the statistical report, it aims at enabling authorities to track the number of pilgrims coming into the Kingdom each month of this year as well as comparing it with the numbers of each month last year, and in turn, enrich their experiences by providing high-quality services. This initiative is one of the main aims of Saudi Vision 2030, which aspires to attract over 30 million Umrah pilgrims and provide them with excellent services and an outstanding experience.
