63% of 1.8 Million Hajj Pilgrims from Asia

Madinah, MINA – The Saudi Arabian government has released data on the number of Hajj pilgrims for 1445 H/2024. The General Authority for Statistics of Saudi Arabia reported that the total number of Hajj pilgrims for 1445 H/2024 is more than 1.8 million people.

“We have just received the release from the General Authority for Statistics or a similar Saudi Arabian Central Statistics Agency. It is mentioned that this year there are 1,833,164 Hajj pilgrims, consisting of 221,854 pilgrims from Saudi Arabia or domestic and 1,611,310 from outside Saudi Arabia,” explained Director General of Hajj and Umrah Affairs of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Indonesia, Hilman Latief, in Madinah on Monday.

According to Hilman, the Saudi Arabian government classifies the origin of Hajj pilgrims into four regions: Arab countries, Africa, Asia, and the group comprising Europe, America, Latin America, and Australia. There are 22.3 per cent of Hajj pilgrims from Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and others.

Meanwhile, pilgrims from Africa make up 11.3% of the total. For countries in Europe, America, Latin America, and Australia, the percentage is 3.2 per cent.

“The largest group is from Asia, reaching 63.3%. Indonesia is the largest sender of Hajj pilgrims, with a quota of 241,000,” Hilman stated.

Based on gender, continued Hilman, the majority of Hajj pilgrims this year are male. The composition is 958,137 male pilgrims (52%) and 875,027 female pilgrims (48%).

“Based on entry points, pilgrims arrive from three directions. There are 60,251 pilgrims through land border crossings. 4,714 through seaports. 1,546,345 through airports,” mentioned Hilman.

The Hajj worship operation has entered the repatriation phase. Gradually, Indonesian Hajj pilgrims have been flown back from the Holy Land to Indonesia since June 22, 2024.

The Integrated Hajj Computerization System (Siskohat) records that more than 66,000 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims have landed in Indonesia.

The process of repatriating Indonesian Hajj pilgrims from King Abdul Aziz Jeddah International Airport will conclude on July 3, 2024. Subsequently, the repatriation process will focus through Amir Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz Airport (AMAA) in Madinah. This phase will take place from July 4 to July 21, 2024. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)