What is the Islamic economy?

According to State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2022 (PDF, 1 MB), the Islamic economy is anchored around the Islamic faith-inspired ethical needs of Muslims. These are the principles and values adopted by them as a ‘way of life’. While they may be culturally diverse or geographically distributed, Muslim consumers globally drive a cohesive USD 2 trillion opportunity across a range of lifestyle products and services, while the Islamic finance assets amount to a USD 3.6 trillion opportunity, collectively known as the ‘Islamic economy’.

The Islamic economy of the UAE

As per the same report, the UAE is the 3^rd country globally in the Global Islamic Economy Indicator (GIEI). The GIEI is a composite weighted index that measures the overall development of the Islamic economic sectors by assessing the performance of its parts in line with its broader social obligations. It comprises 52 metrics organised into five components for each of the seven sectors of the Islamic economy. The seven sectors are: 

1. Islamic finance
2. halal food
3. Muslim-friendly travel
4. modest fashion
5. pharmaceuticals
6. cosmetics
7. media and recreation.

The UAE’s rank in the 7 sectors

The UAE has the highest score in the newly introduced innovation sub-indicator, proven in the launch of the first Non-fungible Token (NFT) Islamic art agency.

Governmental support to the Islamic economy

Federal entity Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology verifies that products, services and production systems conform to the approved standards of the Shari’a principles and international best practices, and issues the Halal National Mark. This practice raises awareness of halal requirements and conformities, and acts as an enabler of the Islamic economy.