Camino de Santiago Reaches Record 500,000 Pilgrims

The Camino de Santiago has continued its record-breaking run, with the past pilgrimage year surpassing all previous highs. For the first time, more than half a million pilgrims completed the route and received their Compostela certificate.

According to statistics from the Pilgrims’ Office in Santiago de Compostela, 530,987 people arrived at the shrine of the Apostle James.

Women accounted for 53.4 percent of all pilgrims, outnumbering men by nearly 35,000.

Spaniards once again formed the largest national group with 228,527 pilgrims, followed by visitors from the United States (43,980), Italy (26,680), and Germany (24,356).

Even at the end of the year, the Camino remained busy: 257 pilgrims arrived on New Year’s Eve alone.

The upward trend is expected to continue. Numbers are likely to rise again in 2026 and especially in 2027, when the next Holy Year will be celebrated, occurring whenever the feast of St. James on July 25 falls on a Sunday.

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