Saudi Arabia issues close to a million Umrah visas

MAKKAH - As many as 998,607 Umrah visas have been issued since the start of the current season late October, according to the Ministry of Haj and Umrah.

The ministry said as many as 695,740 Umrah pilgrims already arrived in the Kingdom and 400,973 of them left the country after performing the rites of the minor pilgrimage.

The ministry said 294,767 Umrah pilgrims remained in the Kingdom with 198,786 of them in Makkah and 95,981 in Madinah.

It said 650,702 pilgrims arrived by air, 45,010 by land and 28 by sea.

The ministry said there were 262,695 pilgrims from Pakistan, 140,505 from India, 131,908 from Indonesia, 26,334 from Yemen, 21,767 from Malaysia, 14,667 from the United Arab Emirates, 13,370 from the United Kingdom, 13,016 from Turkey, 12,285 from Jordan and 11,774 from Bangladesh.

The ministry said 7,665 Saudi employees worked in the Umrah and Haj service companies. They consist of 6,493 men and 1,172 women, who provide flawless services to the pilgrims.