Saudi Arabia: Record 6.2 million pilgrims performed Umrah in third quarter

Dubai: A record 6,254,751 people undertook Umrah pilgrimage in third quarter, according to the latest Umrah Statistics Report released by the Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) on Sunday.

This represents a 35 per cent increase compared to the same quarter last year.

The demographic breakdown reveals that male pilgrims constituted 57.4 per cent of the total. Saudi nationals accounted for 10.7 per cent of all pilgrims during this quarter.

Foreign pilgrims numbered 3,348,512, a 29.2 per cent increase from the previous year. Among these, males represented 51 per cent with 1,707,514 pilgrims, while females accounted for 49 percent, totaling 1,638,743.

Domestic pilgrims saw an even more substantial rise, reaching 2,906,239 — an increase of 42.4 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2023. Saudi nationals among domestic pilgrims numbered 671,729, making up 23.1 per cent, while non-Saudis accounted for a significant 76.9 per cent with 2,234,510 pilgrims. Within the domestic demographic, males represented 64.8 per cent, totaling 1,883,199, while females accounted for 35.2 per cent with 1,023,040.

The report highlighted that the largest group among foreign Umrah pilgrims was aged 35 to 44, comprising 17.6 per cent, while those over 65 years old represented the smallest proportion at 9.2 per cent. Among domestic pilgrims, the most significant age group was 30 to 39 years, making up 29.2 per cent.

August proved to be the peak month for domestic pilgrims, who accounted for 40.1 per cent of the total. In total, 2,295,747 domestic pilgrims undertook the Umrah rituals during the quarter, with males representing 64 pe rcent and females 36 per cent.

Visa data indicated that 60.8 per cent of foreign pilgrims entered Saudi Arabia with Umrah visas, while 29.7 per cent arrived on other types of visas. Electronic visit visas and Gulf visas accounted for 6.6 per cent and 2.9 percent of arrivals, respectively.