Saudi Arabia: 529,000 pilgrims arrived for Hajj

Saudi Arabia yesterday announced that some 529,000 pilgrims had arrived in its territory.

According to the official Saudi Press Agency, the General Directorate of Passports announced that approximately 528,846 pilgrims had arrived by the end of Thursday.

This is an increase of 65,550 pilgrims compared to the same period last year, a rise of 14 per cent.

Read: Hajj pilgrims depart for Saudi Arabia 

The Directorate pointed out that the number of pilgrims arriving by air amounted to 524,234, while the number of arrivals by land was 4,612.

The Kingdom began been welcoming Muslims who are travelling to complete the Hajj on 24 July. The Hajj begins at the end of August.