During the Islamic month of Saffar every year, Iraq witnessed the practition of the most peaceful, copious, and religious human march in the world, for the commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Al-Hussein and his brother Abi Al-Fadl Al-Abbas (peace be upon them) in the holy city of Karbala.
After 2003, Arbaeen has become an important international event that researchers, media, and related parties cannot ignore due to the noticeable increase in the numbers of pilgrims participated in it, and the self- resources spent in the process, not to mention the number of non-Muslims attendees coming from various neighbor and foreign countries.
The total number of pilgrims in the year 2016 AD - 1438 Hijri was 11,210,367 man, woman and child. The number increased in 2017 AD - 1439 Hijri, into 13,874,818 pilgrims, while in 2018 AD - 1440 Hijri, the number has increased again to 15,322,949, followed by another increase in 2019 AD - 1441 Hijri to more than 15.329.955 pilgrims.
In every directions leading to the holy city of Karbala, you find processions, service bodies, academic institutions, and security departments, as well as media outlets and civil society organizations, making exceptional efforts to serve these large numbers of pilgrims.
Source: The Annual Statistical Bulletin of the Arbaeen Pilgrimage for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, by Karbala Center for Studies and Research.
