Riyadh: The total number of foreign and domestic pilgrims who performed Umrah in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024 has reached 6,254,751, represents a 35 percent increase compared to the same quarter in 2023.
This is according to the latest Umrah Statistics Report released by the Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) on Sunday.
The report indicates that male pilgrims accounted for 57.4 percent of the total pilgrims while females constituted 42.6 percent of the total pilgrims. Saudi nationals accounted for 10.7 percent of all pilgrims during this quarter.
Foreign Umrah pilgrims
The number of foreign Umrah pilgrims reached 3,348,512, showing a 29.2 percent increase compared to Q3 2023.
Among them, males accounted for 51 percent with 1,707,514 pilgrims and females for 49 percent with 1,638,743 pilgrims.
The report revealed that among foreign Umrah pilgrims, the highest proportion was aged 35–44 with 17.6 percent, while the lowest proportion was over 65 years old with 9.2 percent.
Domestic Umrah pilgrims
The total number of domestic Umrah pilgrims reached 2,906,239 in Q3 2024, marking a 42.4 percent increase compared to Q3 2023.
Among them, Saudi nationals accounted for 23.1 percent of the population, with 671,729 individuals, while non-Saudis made up 76.9 percent.
The majority of domestic pilgrims were male, accounting for 64.8 per cent, totaling 1,883,199, while females accounted for 35.2 per cent with 1,023,040.
The largest group among domestic performers was aged 30–39 with 29.2 percent.
In August, the Kingdom saw the highest number of single-time Umrah performers, accounting for 40.1 percent of the total.
The report also revealed that in Q3 2024, 60.8 percent of foreign performers arrived with Umrah visas, 29.7 percent with other types, 6.6 percent with electronic visit visas, and 2.9 percent with Gulf visas.
In 2023, more than 13.5 million Muslims performed the Umrah pilgrimage, the highest number of international pilgrims to have ever performed the ritual.
Umrah is a year-round pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia, unlike the Haj, which has specific dates.
