Pakistani pilgrims top in numbers getting Saudi visas for Umrah

KARACHI: Pakistani Umrah pilgrims got the most visas the Saudi authorities issued this year for the pilgrimage so far, Arab media reports said.

According to a report the number of Umrah visas issued by the Saudi government this year has reached to 3,486,363 and the largest number of Umrah pilgrims are from Pakistan, which is 776,326.

Indonesia is second in numbers at 508,180, India at 343,396, Yemen at 170,016, Malaysia at 163,202, Egypt at 147,545, Turkey at 116,081, Algeria at 106,358 and Bangladesh at 75,153, the media report said.

According to the statistics provided by the Hajj and Umrah Ministry of Saudi Arabia, so far 3,020,686 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom. There are 467,017 pilgrims still in the Kingdom, with 326,440 in Makkah and 140,577 in Madinah.

The data tells that most pilgrims — 2,680,863 — came to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by air, while 317,948 entered by land and 21,875 arrived by the sea. The weekly data also included the number of Saudi staff members within Umrah companies and organizations. They are 10,012 Saudis including 8,285 males and 1,727 females.

The Saudi government stresses top priority to developing Hajj and Umrah organisations and services in the Kingdom.

The government’s Vision 2030 reform plan aims to attract more than 30 million Umrah pilgrims and provide them with best services and a lasting experience.