Hajj by Numbers

Hajj is the single-largest gathering of humanity on earth, and it is the responsibility of Saudi Arabia's "Ministry of Hajj" to organize the logistics of it all. Now that this year's pilgrimage is winding to a close, we can take a quick peek at the numbers:

• 3,161,573 million pilgrims
• 189 countries
• 20,000 health workers
• 25 hospitals, 140 seasonal field hospitals, and 200 ambulances
• 50,000 civil defense guards
• 3,000 CCTV cameras
• 72,000 people per hour riding the lightrail train around the holy sites
• 1 million city maps distributed
• 5 million loaves of bread
• 100 million bottles of water

How do the Saudis organize it all? Read more...