16 years on the Camino – what has changed?
It’s 2026 already, somehow! With the passing of another year comes the release of data from the Pilgrim Office in Santiago – a veritable rabbit hole of stats and trends from the Camino from the previous year.
Needless to say, I’m fascinated by it all and I decided to have a look at how things have changed since my very first Camino experience in 2009. I was going to do a 15 year snapshot, but the first time I walked from St Jean to Santiago and on to Finisterre (2010) was a Holy Year when numbers usually spike, so I said I’d go back to 2009 instead.
So what has changed?
Number of pilgrims
2025 saw a record number of recorded pilgrims: 530,98. The first time to surpass the half a million certs being issues.
Keep in mind that this stat only measures the number of certs issued by the Pilgrim Office – it doesn’t include people who don’t get certs, people who walk on other sections of the Camino, etc.
2009 was a mere 147,254 – a little over a quarter of last year’s number. Not so bad in itself until you realise that in 2003 (the first year of stats showing on the Pilgrim Office website), it was just over 74,000, but go back to the early 1980s and you see that in 1981, a sum total of 299 people got certs!
What routes are people walking?
Once upon a time, it was all about the Camino Francés; in 2009, I was one of the 78% of people who walked this Camino route.
Indeed, if you go back to 2003, that was at 88%.
Nowadays, we see that things have changed – a lot – and that the new kid in time is the Camino Portugués. This is the fastest growing route of all and it might not too many years before the total number (central and coastal routes combined) catches up with the Francés. The coastal route from Porto barely registered as an option ten years ago; last year around 80,000 walked on this route!
Finally, spare a thought for the Camino del Norte, even the Camino Primitivo has passed it out!
League of Nations
Of course, most pilgrims come from Spain; slightly declining as a % over time, but still dominant. Years ago, the next in line would have been the larger European nations nearby.
Nowadays, people come from further away; there was a noticeable increase in Americans to coincide with the release of “The Way” in the 2010s, while Korea, Mexico and Australia have all featured in the top 10 in recent years.
And the Irish? Steadily hanging around the lesser places in the Top 10!
What months is the Camino busy?
2009
Numbers peaked in the summer for holiday time; August was clearly the busiest month, followed by July. April and October were much quieter.
2025
The shoulder months are shoulders no more! More and more peopel are exploring the Camino at a time of year when they are hoping it is not as busy and not as hot.
And just being curious....
Battle of the sexes: In 2025, more women walked the Camino than men!
Not by much: 53% – 47%, but it has changed markedly. In 2009, it was loaded 59% – 41% towards men. Not quite the 4:1 ratio of women to men from the group trips we see with Camino Groups though…
Certs: When applying for your Camino cert (called a “compostela”), you must indicate one of 3 reasons – religious / religious or other / non-religious. In 2025, only 20% said non-religious.
But I know for sure that that’s not a reflection of reality! It’s like the survey where only 20% of Irish people said that they use a dodgy box – you’ll answer what you think they want you to answer…
Transport: While it has always been the case that over 90% of people walk the Camino, with most of the remainder cycling, there has been a change since 2009.
Back then, walking “a pie”, cycling and horseback were the only 3 modes of transport listed. Today, sailing and wheelchair have joined the ranks.
Should e-bikes be recognised? Controversial topic incoming…..
And finally - where do we begin and where are we going?
This is a bit more subtle than simply being a mirror of the routes that people walk on.
Look at the left image from 2009; next up after Sarria as the most popular starting point is St Jean Pied de Port and then Roncesvalles just over the Pyrenees. Combine the two and you see that as many people started 775km away and walked for a month to Santiago (either in one go or over a number of years) as started around the 100km marker.
Now look at the image on the right. What comes after Sarria? Tui – the starting point for many to cover the minimum 100km distance required for certification. Soon after that? Ferrol / Vigo / Valença – all for the same reason.
This is the most interesting comparison of all for me. Today, people are dipping in and out of the Camino for a week at a time in a way that wasn’t the case not so long ago. It raises all sorts of fascinating questions about the direction the Camino is heading in.
Is it about the destination or the journey? Is it a life experience or a tourist product? Is the Camino saturated or is it opening up to the world?
There are some comparisons that don’t exist; do people carry their own belongings or have their bags moved? Do people stay in hotel rooms or albergue hostels?
I sometimes see clashes of opinions (often entrenched) on social media forums; old-timers vs newbies, comfort vs sacrifice, spirituality vs short-attention tourism.
Do I have opinions myself? Sure, maybe! My heart yearns for getting lost on the Camino for a month at a time, but my living comes from catering for what people want. Because of this, I’m lucky enough to have experienced many sides to the Camino and can see merits in all sorts of opinions.
As John Lyons used to say many years ago in Inagh, I’ll keep on with the motto of “coimeád an béal dúnta agus na súile ar oscailt” and I’ll leave the definitives to others!
Buen Camino!
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