A man raises his hands in front of the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on June 24, 2023 during the hajj. (Credit: Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)
Saudi Arabia's statistics authority announced Tuesday that this year's annual hajj pilgrimage has drawn more than 1.8 million worshippers, falling short of a record despite predictions of peak attendance.
The Kingdom's officials had predicted that this year's rituals would draw more than 2.5 million pilgrims, making it the largest to date.
But official figures relayed by the state-run Al Ekhbariya TV showed they fell short of the 2.5 million worshippers who took part in 2019.
"The total number of pilgrims for this hajj season... is 1,845,045 male and female pilgrims," the Saudi statistics authority announced, according to Al Ekhbariya.
This year's figures still mark a dramatic increase on the 926,000 from last year, when numbers were capped at one million following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Only 10,000 were allowed in 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, rising to nearly 59,000 a year later.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all able Muslims at least once in their lives.
Saudi Arabia's statistics authority announced Tuesday that this year's annual hajj pilgrimage has drawn more than 1.8 million worshippers, falling short of a record despite predictions of peak attendance.
The Kingdom's officials had predicted that this year's rituals would draw more than 2.5 million pilgrims, making it the largest to...