“Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry said that 1,379,531 foreigners from 188 countries have arrived in the kingdom to perform Haj (pilgrimage) this year. The number of men was 752,424, representing 55 per cent of the foreign pilgrims not based in Saudi Arabia, while 627,107 women made up 45 per cent of the total number, the interior minister Prince Mohammad Bin Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz said, quoted by local daily Al Eqtisadiya on Monday. However, the figure for this year is 21 per cent less than that of last year following measures to reduce the number of pilgrims as the Grand Mosque is undergoing massive construction work that has limited space.”
Source: Haj draws nearly 1.4m to Saudi Arabia | GulfNews.com
