Over 1.8 mn pilgrims perform Haj this yr: Saudi Arabia

Riyadh, June 28: The Saudi Arabian government announced that more than 1.8 million pilgrims from over 150 countries have performed Haj so far this year.

The General Authority for Statistics said Tuesday said that the number of pilgrims from Arab countries has reached more than 346,000, or 21 per cent of the total, reports Xinhua news agency.

Among the pilgrims, more than 1 million from Asian countries, making up 63.5 per cent of the total, while nearly 223,000 others, or 13.4 per cent , came from African countries excluding the Arab nations.

More than 36,500 pilgrims travelled from Europe, the US, Australia and other unlisted countries to Saudi Arabia, representing 2.1 per cent of the total, according to the General Authority for Statistics.