Saudi Gazette report

Jeddah — A total number of 19,079,306 pilgrims performed Umrah in 2017, according to statistics released on Tuesday by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat).

The statistical report quoting the registered data of the Ministry of Haj and Umrah said that 6,532,074 Umrah pilgrims came from outside Saudi Arabia while 12,547,232 domestic pilgrims (Saudis and non-Saudis) performed Umrah in 2017. The data showed that 46.9% Saudis and 53.1% non-Saudis residing in the Kingdom performed Umrah last year.

Male domestic Umrah pilgrims accounted for 64.3% as compared to 35.7% of female Umrah pilgrims.

The GaStat Umrah statistics bulletin for 2017 also showed that Ramadan is considered a top season during which Umrah is performed by people from inside Saudi Arabia, as 53.6% of total pilgrims performed Umrah in the holy month of fasting.

King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah registered 62.5%, the highest percentage of Umrah pilgrims’ arrival in the Kingdom from abroad.

It was followed by Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Madinah which registered 25.7% of Umrah pilgrims’ arrival from abroad.

The GaStat report contains many Umrah-related indicators and results which have been taken from the Umrah survey for domestic pilgrims and the registered data from the Ministry of Haj and Umrah regarding foreign Umrah pilgrims. Through this report, GaStat and its related partners want to create a database of all domestic and foreign Umrah pilgrims to support decision and policy makers to further improve services provided to pilgrims.