Hajj attendance falls to 30-year-low excluding the COVID-19 pandemic period

ISLAMABAD (AP) — This year’s Hajj in Saudi Arabia attracted the lowest number of pilgrims for 30 years, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic period, according to figures released Thursday.

The annual Islamic pilgrimage attracted just 1,673,230 Muslims, the majority of them from outside Saudi Arabia, according to a post from the country’s Hajj Ministry on the social platform X.

Authorities did not immediately offer an explanation for the low turnout.

It’s almost 160,000 fewer pilgrims than last year and a far cry from the pre-pandemic boom, when attendance would regularly push past 2 million. There was a record-breaking Hajj in 2012, when more than 3.16 million Muslims took part.

The kingdom ran a pared-down pilgrimage during the COVID-19 pandemic, sharply reducing the scale of the Hajj between 2020 and 2022 while still allowing a small number of the faithful to take part in the annual event.

The Hajj in 2023 was the first to be held without restrictions since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

At the Hajj, Muslims gather in Saudi Arabia to unite in religious rituals and acts of worship as they fulfil one of the Five Pillars of Islam, a religious obligation. It can be the spiritual experience of a lifetime for them and a chance to seek God’s forgiveness and the erasure of past sins.

But inflation and economic crises around the world are putting the Hajj out of reach for some. Excess heat and tougher rules for entry may have also deterred potential pilgrims from heading to Saudi Arabia this year.

Earlier Thursday, pilgrims gathered in Arafat to spend hours in worship and contemplation. The rocky hill holds immense significance in Islam. Arafat is mentioned in the Quran and it is where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have given his last sermon on his final Hajj.

On Friday, pilgrims will head to the vast tent city of Mina to carry out the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual by throwing pebbles at pillars.