Doha, Qatar: In a historic first, Saudi Arabia accommodated 13.55 million Umrah pilgrims in 2023.
The Minister of Hajj and Umrah. Dr Tawfiq al-Rabiah stated this while addressing the third annual Hajj and Umrah Services Conference in Jeddah. He announced that the year gone by witnessed a record number of 13.55 million, which is about 58 percent higher when compared with the 2019.
The Saudi Press Agency quoted the Minister announcing, "the hosting of 13,550,000 million Muslims who performed the Umrah rituals during the year 2023, making it the most historic year for Muslims performing Umrah with an increase of 5 million and a percentage exceeding 58% compared to the previous highest number."
Umrah can be performed any time during a year, in comparison to Hajj, which has specific dates.
The minister further noted that the ongoing infrastructure development projects at the holy site exceeds SAR 5billion.
Meanwhile, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Eng. Waleed El-Khereiji revealed the launch of the KSA Visa application in December 2023 for electronic visas, that aimed to facilitate pilgrims in obtaining their visas electronically without the need to visit the embassy.
