Hajj Corporation Managing Director Mohamed Shakeel has disclosed that more than 9,000 individuals are currently on the waiting list for Hajj pilgrimage slots.
As of now, 9,115 people have paid for the pilgrimage and are awaiting allocation. This includes 8,623 first-time applicants and 492 individuals who have previously performed Hajj.
The majority of those on the list are under the age of 65 and have not been on the pilgrimage before, totaling 7,150. Within this group, 393 repeat pilgrims have also registered.
The second largest category includes individuals aged between 65 and 75, with 1,370 names on the list. Among them, 91 have previously performed Hajj.
For those over the age of 75, 103 first-time pilgrims and 8 repeat pilgrims have been registered.
Last year, the government decided to allocate the entire Hajj quota for the Maldives through the Hajj Corporation. To address the long wait times, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu recently approved policy changes to prioritize first-time pilgrims.
The Maldives currently receives a quota of 1,000 Hajj slots annually, but the government is actively working to secure an increase in this allocation.
