How many days does it take to earn enough money to pay for the haj?

With another haj season over, rising accommodation and flight costs continue to be blamed for increasingly expensive privately-run haj tours, with prices from markets such as Britain tripling this decade. Yet state subsidies in many Asian countries are helping make the pilgrimage cheaper for citizens.

Is haj affordable?

Taking nominal GDP per capita figures from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, Salaam Gateway calculated the length of time it would take to earn enough money to pay for the cheapest state-run haj package, or cheapest private tours in countries where such trips are unavailable. For India, the price we use is an average of government-subsidised packages that charge different airfares depending on the departure point.

These figures do not account for disposable income, but are a useful indicator to gauge relative affordability. In Indonesia, people pay the equivalent of 245 days’ income for a haj trip, while in neighbouring Malaysia it was 90 days. India and Pakistan came in at 714 and 661 days respectively, France at 57, UK at 54, and the United States 40.

Read the full article: Asia leading the way in making haj affordable for its citizens

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