A total 2,662,909 intending pilgrims are expected to perform this year’s hajj pilgrimage, following the restoration of the 20 per cent global cut due to expansion works at the Grand Mosque.
A report yesterday by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said 800,000 more pilgrims are expected this season following completion of expansion works which started in 2013.
Last year, a total of 1,862,909 pilgrims performed the hajj. When added to the expected 800,000, the figure will be 2,662,909, Daily Trust’s tally shows.
In e-mail exchanges last year, the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said 1,862,909 pilgrims performed the 2016 hajj, consisting of 1,325,372 pilgrims from 169 countries and 537,537 domestic pilgrims.
By this figure, the total number of pilgrims that performed pilgrimage to the Kingdom would have reached 48,760,096 by the end of this year’s exercise.
A total of 47,960,096 Muslims performed the annual Muslim Pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in 22 years by 2016 following the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia report obtained by Daily Trust.
