Nearly 350,000 Pilgrims arrive to Santiago in 2019 ….

The 2019 Camino statistics from the Pilgrims Office in Santiago are out, providing interesting insights into pilgrim numbers for last year. 347,578 people received their Compostela certificates in 2019, a 6.2% increase compared to 2018.

These statistics refer to the number of Compostelas issued for pilgrims who finished in Santiago, they do not account for pilgrims who have not finished in Santiago or those who finished in Santiago but did not collect a Compostela.

An additional 25,326 pilgrims walked from Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre, or the ‘end of the world’ as it was known in medieval times.

The majority of people chose to walk the Camino (94%) while 5.6% cycled it and the remainder sailed, did it on horseback or in a wheelchair.

Most Popular Camino Routes 

There are many different Camino routes throughout Spain and in Portugal. Let’s take a closer look at the most popular routes….

  1. The French Way remains the most popular Camino route with 189,939 pilgrims.
  2. The Portuguese Way stays as the second favourite, with 72,357 pilgrims choosing this route.
  3. The Finisterre Way remains the third most walked Camino with 25,326 pilgrims.
  4. The Portuguese Coastal Way rose from 7th to 4th, with 22,292 pilgrims representing a massive 61% increase compared to 2018.
  5. The Northern Way is fifth with 19,021 pilgrims making it all the way to Santiago.
  6. The English Way remains at 6th with 15,783 Compostelas issued for pilgrims following in the footsteps of English, Irish and Scandinavian pilgrims. This represents an 11.5% increase on the numbers in 2018.
  7. The Primitive Way is 7th with 15,715 pilgrims.
  8. The Silver Way is 8th with 9,201 people choosing this route.

Pilgrim Nationality

So, where is everyone coming from?

Pilgrims travel from all over the world to walk these famous trails. The top 15 represented nationalities on the Camino, excluding the Finisterre Way section, are:

  1. Spain – 146,350 (42.1%)
  2. Italy – 28,749 (8.3%)
  3. Germany – 26,167 (7.5%)
  4. USA – 20,652 (5.9%)
  5. Portugal – 17,450 (5%)
  6. France – 9,248 (2.6%)
  7. UK – 9,132 (2.6%)
  8. Korea – 8,224 (2.4%)
  9. Ireland – 6,826 (2%)
  10. Brazil – 6,025 (1.7%)
  11. Australia – 5,301 (1.5%)
  12. Canada – 5,279 (1.5%)
  13. Poland – 4,874 (1.4%)
  14. Holland – 4,195 (1.2%)
  15. Mexico – 4091 (1.2)

Source: Pilgrim Office, Santiago de Compostela and Oficina turismo Fisterra.

For more information about the Camino de Santiago routes or to book your Camino trip, contact our travel specialists on +353 1 442 8921 or email us on info@magichillholidays.com.