Nearly 79 Million Worshippers Visit Mecca and Medina During Rajab

Nearly 79 million worshippers and pilgrims passed through Islam’s two holiest sites during the lunar month of Rajab, underscoring rising demand for Umrah and highlighting Saudi Arabia’s expanding capacity to manage large-scale religious crowds outside the peak Hajj season.

According to figures released by the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, a total of 78,843,425 visitors entered the Two Holy Mosques during Rajab 1447 AH, making it one of the busiest non-Hajj periods in recent years.

The Grand Mosque in Mecca recorded nearly 35 million worshippers over the course of the month, while 14.9 million pilgrims performed Umrah. More than 54,000 worshippers prayed in the Hijr Ismail area adjacent to the Kaaba, a site of particular spiritual significance.

In Medina, the Prophet’s Mosque welcomed 25.1 million worshippers during Rajab. Of these, 1.29 million prayed in the Rawdah Al-Sharifah, one of the most revered areas within the mosque. An additional 2.59 million visitors offered greetings at the resting place of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his two companions.

The authority said the figures were calculated using a throughput methodology that tracks total entries across prayer and visitation areas, providing a comprehensive picture of crowd movement and site usage.

The data also reflects a sharp increase in international Umrah travel. More than two million pilgrims arrived from outside Saudi Arabia during Rajab alone, representing worshippers from across the Muslim world and beyond.

Saudi authorities attributed the surge to improved digital services and integrated logistics systems that have streamlined visa issuance, travel coordination and on-the-ground crowd management, reinforcing the Kingdom’s capacity to handle growing numbers of pilgrims year-round.