Camino de Santiago Statistics 2025

Camino de Santiago Popularity in 2025

As more people have learned about the Camino, participation in the pilgrimage has continued to grow over the years since its inception centuries ago. In 2025, it reached an all-time high with over half a million people completing the Camino, a 6% increase compared to the year prior.

How many people walked the Camino de Santiago in 2025?

530,919 people completed the Camino de Santiago in 2025. Of those, 492,087 are recorded as having completing the Camino on foot.

What is the breakdown of pilgrims completing the Camino on foot, bike, horseback, boat, and wheelchair?

While the majority of pilgrims walk the Camino de Santiago, some complete the journey by bike, horseback, boat, and wheelchair. Here's the breakdown for 2025:

• 492,087 on foot (15.77% increase from year prior)
• 21,044 by bike (1.29% increase from year prior)
• 723 on horseback (22.34% increase from year prior)
• 310 by boat (13.97% increase from year prior)
• 257 via wheelchair (4.81% decrease from year prior)
• 16,498 unknown (56.50% increase from year prior)

You'll see that the amount of people completing the journey by each mode of transport remained relatively the same in 2025 but scaled up slightly with the overall increase in pilgrims.

When I hiked the Camino Francés and both Portugués routes, I mostly saw other hikers. However, I saw some bikers along the way too. I didn't see anyone on horseback or in a wheelchair, and I wasn't in the area where people travel by boat (with the exception of the Portuguese Spiritual Variant).

What is the motivation for pilgrims completing the Camino?

The majority of pilgrims claim to hike for religious or other reasons. Here's the breakdown in 2025:

• Religious: 233,182 pilgrims (7.97% increase from year prior)
• Other Reasons: 169,061 pilgrims (11.09% increase from year prior)
• Not Religious: 97,798 pilgrims (11.22% increase from year prior)
• Unknown: 30,878 pilgrims (53.01% increase from year prior)

In my personal experience, many folks hiking weren't necessarily Catholic but were undertaking the Camino for some sort of spiritual reason, whether religious or not. For me, I had many reasons for hiking the Camino. I primarily decided to do it to heal from the end to my engagement and figure out what I wanted next in life.

Don't worry if you aren't hiking for religious or spiritual reasons though. You certainly won't be alone!

This is just my speculation, but I have a feeling these statistics are slightly inflated too. Historically there used to be two different Compostela certificates you could get for finishing the Camino and the more “official” one was the religious one.

There are no longer two Compostela certificates, but I think many people still worry about it and tell the office that they completed for religious reasons. I know I myself did on my first Camino.

Camino de Santiago Routes, Starting Points, and Timing in 2025

With so many different Camino de Santiago routes and a plethora of potential starting points, it's always interesting to see where the stats net out here.

Which Camino route was the most popular?

The Camino Francés (French Way) has been the most popular Camino route since the 11th century and remains so to this day.

All but one of the most popular routes saw an increase in pilgrims in 2025. Most notably, the Camino Portugués Coastal Route continued to see the most growth with an almost 20% increase in popularity compared to the year prior.

Here's a breakdown of the most popular routes:

• Camino Francés (French Way): 242,163 pilgrims (2.45% increase from year prior)
• Camino Portugués Central (Portuguese Way): 100,831 pilgrims (5.63% increase from year prior)
• Camino Portugués Coastal (Portuguese Camino Coastal Route): 89,504 pilgrims (19.72% increase from year prior)
• Camino Inglés (English Way): 30,203 pilgrims (7.64% increase from year prior)
• Camino Primitivo (Primitive Way or Original Way): 27,868 pilgrims (13.92% increase from year prior)
• Camino del Norte (Northern Way): 21,482 pilgrims (0.30% increase from year prior)
• Vía de la Plata (Silver Way): 8,833 pilgrims (2.16% decrease from year prior)

Each Camino route has its own charm. I first hiked the Camino Francés because its popularity makes it an easy route to meet others and navigate logistically since there are many places to stop and stay along the way.

The full Francés route takes about a month to complete though, so I see why the Camino Portugués has become such a popular option as most people hike it over about two weeks.

Plus, the Coastal route of the Portuguese Way is absolutely stunning. Now that I've walked both Portuguese routes from Porto, I can really see why the Coastal route is growing so much.

Personally, I'm hoping to hike the Camino Primitivo or Camino del Norte next.

Which Camino route was the least popular?

Of the most popular routes, Vía de la Plata had the fewest number of pilgrims. However, there are a number of other lesser-known Camino de Santiago routes with even fewer pilgrims. Of all the Camino routes, the Camino Real del Sur in Tenerife was the least popular with only 4 pilgrims completing it in 2025.

When I did my Camino, I met someone who was hiking the Vía de la Plata, and it sounded quite challenging. He told me that accommodations along the route were sparse at times, meaning he had to walk really long or really short days. Plus, southern Spain is notoriously hot, so I can't imagine hiking through there, especially in summer.

Where did pilgrims start the Camino de Santiago?

There are numerous places to start the Camino de Santiago. In 2025, pilgrims started their Caminos at over 300 different locations!

Starting points are primarily in Spain, Portugal, and France. However, some pilgrims start their treks as far away as Germany (239 pilgrims), the Netherlands (178 pilgrims), Belgium (177 pilgrims), and other countries.

The following were the most popular starting points for the Camino de Santiago in 2025:

• Sarria, Spain: 162,076 pilgrims (7.27% increase from year prior)
• Porto, Portugal: 51,572 pilgrims (4.83% increase from year prior)
• Tui, Spain: 41,644 pilgrims (13.86% increase from year prior)
• Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France: 30,345 pilgrims (6.85% decrease from year prior)
• Ferrol, Spain: 28,885 pilgrims (7.86% increase from year prior)

Many people start the Camino wherever they can with the time they have. The length of your Camino is really up to you, which is partly why there are so many starting points.

Some people will also hike the Camino in sections. I even met a man from Madrid who originally started at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port but only had one week timeframes to hike. He would hike as much as he could in one week, go home, and then return again another time, picking up where he left off.

I personally started my Camino from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to hike the full length of the Camino Francés. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is a charming town at the foot of the Pyrenees. It's not too hard to get to, and it's a nice place to spend a day or two before the Camino.

For the two main Portuguese routes, I started in Porto. I thought about starting all the way in Lisbon but had heard the stretch from Lisbon to Porto doesn't have many pilgrims and involves quite a bit of road walking.

What is the busiest month on the Camino?

September was the busiest month for finishing the Camino in 2025. It was the third most popular month in 2024, but the number of pilgrims hiking in September in 2025 jumped by over 15,000.

April and October saw large increases in pilgrims as well. I suspect this is because as the Camino gets more popular, people are looking to quieter months to avoid crowds.

Here's a breakdown of the number of pilgrims by month in 2025:

• September: 81,564 pilgrims (23.76% increase from year prior)
• May: 78,774 pilgrims (13.23% increase from year prior)
• August: 77,097 pilgrims (12.34% increase from year prior)
• June: 74,048 pilgrims (16.71% increase from year prior)
• July: 67,036 pilgrims (14.99% increase from year prior)
• October: 62,862 pilgrims (29.10% increase from year prior)
• April: 54,645 pilgrims (33.46% increase from year prior)
• March: 14,072 pilgrims (36.51% decrease from year prior)
• November: 11,073 pilgrims (7.19% increase from year prior)
• February: 3,537 pilgrims (19.53% increase from year prior)
• December: 3,304 pilgrims (8.94% increase from year prior)
• January: 2,907 pilgrims (36.80% increase from year prior)

When looking at specific routes, September was the most popular for the Francés and both Portugués routes. August was the most popular month for the Camino Inglés, Camino Primitivo, and Camino del Norte. May was the most popular for the Vía de la Plata and other Caminos.

If you're thinking about when to hike the Camino, definitely keep these numbers in mind. The more crowded a month, the harder it may potentially be to find accommodation.

I personally hiked the Francés in June 2023 and felt like it provided the perfect balance of plenty of people on the trail without being too crowded as well as ideal weather.

I hiked both Portugués routes in May of 2025. Even though that was the second most popular month for pilgrims on those routes, I didn't find them too crowded aside from the last 100 km, but you can easily avoid crowds on that stretch by taking the Spiritual Variant.

Camino de Santiago Statistics in 2025 by Country

The beauty of the Camino is that it attracts pilgrims of all nationalities. Pilgrims in 2025 came from almost 200 different countries and territories!

When I hiked the Camino Francés and both Portugués routes, I met people from all over the world. Some of my favorite Camino friends were from Germany, Australia, Sweden, Italy, and the U.S.

What was the most common nationality of pilgrims who completed the Camino?

228,261 pilgrims who completed the Camino in 2025 were from Spain. That's 43% of all pilgrims.

Among them, most come from Spain's autonomous communities of Andalucía (53,753), Madrid (40,653), Valencía (28,072), Cataluña (21,794), Galicia (12,893), and Castilla la Mancha (12,526).

When I hiked, I didn't meet too many Spaniards, but the ones I did meet were from Andalucía and Madrid, so these stats track with my own experience.

How many Americans completed the Camino de Santiago?

After Spain, the United States had the most pilgrims who completed the Camino de Santiago in 2025. 43,964 Americans completed the trek, 15.54% more than the year prior.

What other nationalities participated in the Camino de Santiago?

After Spain and the U.S., here are some of the main countries where pilgrims came from in 2025:

• Italy: 26,626 pilgrims(6.90% decrease from year prior)
• Germany: 24,335 pilgrims (3.72% increase from year prior)
• Portugal: 22,813 pilgrims (4.00% increase from year prior)
• United Kingdom: 14,643 pilgrims (11.82% increase from year prior)
• Mexico: 12,088 pilgrims (27.50% increase from year prior)
• Ireland: 10,792 pilgrims (5.68% increase from year prior)
• France: 9,999 pilgrims (2.38% decrease from year prior)
• Australia: 9,407 pilgrims (22.63% increase from year prior)
• Canada: 8,842 pilgrims (13.84% increase from year prior)
• Brazil: 8,408 pilgrims (18.54% increase from year prior)
• Poland: 8,323 pilgrims (11.30% increase from year prior)
• South Korea: 7,481 pilgrims (5.42% decrease from year prior)
• Argentina: 6,843 pilgrims (42.35% increase from year prior)
• Netherlands: 6,739 pilgrims (6.08% increase from year prior)
• Colombia: 6,302 pilgrims (38.54% increase from year prior)

The Camino continues to grow around the world. Most notably, pilgrims from Ukraine and China more than doubled in 2025. Taiwan, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico saw large increases in the number of pilgrims as well.

Camino de Santiago Pilgrim Demographics in 2025

In addition to coming from all over the world, Camino pilgrims are incredibly diverse.

In my experience, I found myself making friends with all kinds of people of various ages and backgrounds, many of whom I wouldn't necessarily meet and befriend in my typical life.

What was the average age of pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago?

Most pilgrims are between the ages of 18 and 65. This is definitely a broad range, but the Pilgrim's Office doesn't keep very granular data on ages unfortunately.

Here's the breakdown in pilgrim ages in 2025:

• 215,258 between 18 and 45 (20.08% increase from year prior)
• 205,734 between 46 and 65 (11.27% increase from year prior)
• 60,403 older than 65 (12.37% increase from year prior)
• 49,524 younger than 18 (29.69% increase from year prior)

In my experience on three Caminos now, there seemed to be a lot of folks in their late 20s or 30s and then around retirement age in their 60s or so.

How many women vs. men completed the Camino de Santiago?

Women made up 53.67% of pilgrims who completed the Camino in 2025. 284,927 women (15.98% increase from year prior) and 245,992 men (16.90% increase from year prior) did the Camino.

As a woman, I find it encouraging to see so many other women completing the Camino. When I was hiking solo, it definitely helped me feel safer.

Methodology

I pulled all 2025 and 2024 data for this piece from the official Camino Pilgrim's Office website. I input the data into my own spreadsheet and translated everything myself using my years of learning Spanish.

The Pilgrim's Office collects this data when pilgrims finish the Camino and collect their Compostela certificate, where they show their passport with stamps as evidence of where they've been. This means that these statistics do not capture anyone who did not pick up a Compostela–either folks who had to end their Caminos early or folks who didn't care to get the certificate.

You can download the full data I was working with here: