Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque welcomes over 4.3M visitors in first half of 2024
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Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque welcomed 4,379,258 visitors in the first half of the year, a significant increase from the 3.3 million visits during the same period last year and the 1.5 million in 2022. This year's visitors included 2,584,425 tourists and 1,765,698 worshippers.
The mosque saw its highest number of daily worshippers on April 5, with 87,186 people attending, marking the 27th day of Ramadan. Of these, 70,680 gathered in the evening to observe Laylat Al Qadr, an important Islamic event.
During Ramadan, the mosque served 2.15 million iftar meals, with 650,000 provided within the mosque and 1.5 million distributed across Abu Dhabi.
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre, which operates the mosque, reported that 81% of visitors were from outside the UAE. Asia accounted for 52% of all visits, followed by Europe at 34%, North America at 7%, Africa and South America at 3% each and Australia at 1%. India had the highest number of visitors at 22%, followed by China (11%), Russia (8%) and Germany and the USA (4% each).
The mosque remains a top attraction, ranking first in the Top Attractions category in the Middle East by TripAdvisor. Completed in 2007, the mosque covers 22,000 square meters and can host over 40,000 worshippers. It commemorates the legacy of the UAE's Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
In December, the mosque launched night tours for travelers in transit with limited time in the capital.
