Ramadan is worth up to £1.3bn to UK economy — and growing fast
Report from thinktank Equi suggests the Muslim pound is undervalued as sluggish 2024 figures show UK ‘struggling to grow’
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The UK’s Ramadan economy has as much as quadrupled in the past decade and could now be worth £1.3bn annually, new research suggests.
Researchers from the thinktank Equi estimated that Muslim consumers now spend £642m a year on food, travel and clothes, as well as giving £359m in charitable donations, while mosques across the UK also provided an estimated 3.8m free iftar meals at a cost of £15m.
By contrast, the UK economy is “struggling to grow”, with growth of 0.9% in the last quarter of 2024 following a quarter of 0% growth, according to House of Commons research. UK GDP has grown approximately 11.8% since 2015.
Dr Mamnun Khan, author of Equi’s report Ramadan: Its Value to British Society and the Economy, said: “While this is the first comprehensive study of its kind, we estimate that the overall Ramadan economy has grown approximately fourfold since 2015, based on a combination of supermarket data and rapid growth in non-supermarket areas like fashion, gifting and charitable giving. For context, the data cited shows supermarket Ramadan sales alone have tripled since 2015, now estimated at up to £342m.”
Launching the report, Professor Javed Khan OBE, managing director of Equi, called for the government and businesses to help harness the economic and social benefits of the holy month and for campaigns such as “Buy British” to also include British halal products. “This is a timely opportunity for government and industry to act to maximise the month’s positive impact for our communities,” he said.
Supermarkets and mainstream retailers have been improving their Ramadan offer over the past decade and, alongside the UK’s 47,000 convenience stores, made an estimated £228m to £342m in Ramadan sales while investing another £159m to £274m in their supply chains. The report adds that the development of more “inclusive” brands by some retailers means they are more likely to benefit from the Muslim pound.
With its value estimated at between £800m and £1.3bn, the Ramadan economy may now be larger than the UK sea fishing industry, which was worth £1.1bn in 2023, while its growth is likely to be outstripping the UK economy as a whole. Last week, the Office for Budget Responsibility confirmed that the UK economy grew 0.1% in the final quarter of 2024 and revised its measure of the economy’s growth over the year to 1.1%.
Equi’s report calls for the government to recognise and integrate the Ramadan economy into its economic planning, to support the growth of British Muslim businesses, and to issue guidance to employers on best practice in supporting Muslim employees during Ramadan.
At a special iftar celebration last week, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds praised the “remarkable surge in donations from Muslim communities each year” during Ramadan.
The Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Work and Pensions did not respond to Equi’s recommendations.
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