A Saudi government spokesperson says more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims are in the country for this year's Hajj.

Saudi Arabia has barred more than 269,000 people without permits for the annual Hajj pilgrimage from entering Mecca this week, authorities said, as the world's largest annual gathering of people has officially begun.

Nearly 1.7 million pilgrims have begun the final phase of the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, performing the symbolic stoning of the devil in Mina before concluding with the farewell circumambulation in Mecca.