Saudi Arabia receives 33.8 Million Umrah Pilgrims from 2008 till Last Week

Jeddah - The number of Umrah pilgrims who came to Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the Umrah season 1429/2008 until 12 of Rabi Al Thani 1436 / February 1, 2015 stood at 33,812,145. During this period, a total of 36,106,449 visas were issued for those who wish to perform Umrah from all over the world, according to statistics of the Ministry of Hajj obtained by the International Islamic News Agency.

The statistics, covering seven year period from 1429 to1435H showed that the Saudi authorities had issued 33,744,527 Umrah visas during this period, of which 32,019,696 came to perform the ritual while 1.72 million fails to come, and this included 397,439 in the year 1433, which was the highest during the period.

The Statistics also showed that the number of Umrah pilgrims who left the Kingdom after performing the lesser pilgrimage during the period (1429-1435) reached 31,870,512, and out of 32,019,696 pilgrims, 149184 overstayed their visas.

There was a decrease in the overstaying of the pilgrims during the past seven years from 1.55 percent (49,510 pilgrims) in the 1429 season to 0.19 percent (11,882 pilgrims) in the year 1435.

The statistics indicated that the year 1435 was the highest in the number of Umrah pilgrims with 6,023,840, an increase of 913,646 pilgrims while comparing with the year 1434 during which 5,138,072 pilgrims came. This saw a significant decline in the number of pilgrims from the previous year (5,431,281), while the year 1429 witnessed the lowest in the number of pilgrims with 3,194,019.

The Ministry of Haj has introduced an electronic system for the entire process, including issuance of visa, arrival and departure of pilgrims, as well as their transportation and movement between Makkah and Madinah for the Umrah season that starts from Safar 1 until the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Saudi Hajj Minister Bandar Hajjar said in previous statements that this electronic system connects a number of government agencies including the Ministry of Hajj, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the private institutions, which are licensed to provide Umrah services.