Hajj Draws 1.8 Million Pilgrims, Falls Short of Record

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This year's annual Hajj pilgrimage has drawn more than 1.8 million worshippers, Saudi Arabia's statistics authority said on Tuesday, falling significantly short of a record despite predictions of peak attendance.

The kingdom's officials had predicted that this year's rituals, one of the world's largest religious gatherings, would attract more than 2.5 million pilgrims, making it the largest to date.

However, official figures carried by the state-run Al Ekhbariya TV showed that they were still below the 2.5 million worshippers who participated in 2019.

"The total number of pilgrims for this Hajj season is 1,845,045 males and females," stated the Saudi statistics authority, as reported by Al Ekhbariya.

This year's figures still represent a significant increase from the 926,000 in the previous year when the numbers were limited to one million due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Only 10,000 were permitted in 2020 during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, with the number rising to nearly 59,000 the following year.

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lives. Bakrid (Eid-ul-Adha) festival marks the conclusion of the Hajj Pilgrimage, which is the fifth pillar of Islam, following the Declaration of Faith, Offering Prayers, Fasting, and Alms Giving. Each year, approximately 3 million people gather in Mecca to perform the pilgrimage together.

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