THE WORLD is still reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which made 2020 such an unprecedented and unpredictable year. While a ‘new normal’ started to emerge in 2021, following the mass roll-out of COVID-19 vaccinations, particularly in more developed economies, the ramifications of the pandemic will be felt for years to come. This ninth edition of the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report covers developments from the middle of the pandemic in 2020 until third quarter of 2021.

The 2022 report estimates that the world’s 1.9 billion Muslims spent the equivalent of US$2 trillion in 2021 across the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, fashion, travel, and media/ recreation sectors, all of which are impacted by Islamic faith-inspired ethical consumption needs. This spending reflects an 8.9% year-on-year growth from 2020, with Islamic finance assets estimated to have grown to US$3.6 trillion in 2021, up 7.8%, from US$3.4 trillion in 2020.

Despite the continued uncertainty related to the pandemic, global Muslim spending in 2022 is forecasted to grow by 9.1% for the Islamic economy sectors covered in this report, excluding the Islamic finance sector. All of these sectors, except travel, have returned to pre-pandemic spend levels by the end of 2021. Muslim spend is forecasted to reach US$2.8 trillion by 2025 at a 4-year Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.5%.