How much do British Muslims contribute to the UK economy and what is the spending power of British Muslims as of 2025?
Executive summary
Two competing figures dominate recent reporting on the economic footprint of British Muslims in 2025: umbrella-community estimates that trace back to the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and older studies put the community’s contribution at roughly £31 billion and its spending power at about £20.5 billion [1] [2], while a newer think‑tank analysis from Equi argues British Muslims generate around £70 billion a year when income, business activity and charitable giving are combined [3] [4]. Both sets of figures are cited widely in Parliament and the press, but they rest on different scopes, dates and methodologies, so the truthful answer is “it depends” — with clear policy and narrative implications depending on which estimate one uses.
1. Two headline numbers: £31bn vs £70bn – what each claims
The MCB‑linked “Muslim Pound” figure that circulates across media and advocacy outlets reports that British Muslims contribute “£31 billion plus” to the UK economy and have an estimated spending power of £20.5 billion, with subsidiary claims such as over £1 billion spent on halal food and 13,400 Muslim‑owned businesses in London creating 70,000 jobs [1] [2] [5]. By contrast, Equi’s 2024–25 research presents a substantially larger aggregate, estimating British Muslims generate at least £70 billion annually for the UK economy — a total the think tank uses to underline both contribution and the economic risk of community marginalisation or “exodus” [3] [4]. Parliamentarians have repeated the Equi total in debates, signalling its traction in policy circles [6].
2. Why the gap is so wide: scope, methodology and implicit agendas
The divergence reflects differing definitions and collection methods: the MCB framing — rooted in an older “Muslim Pound” dossier and repeated summaries — tends to foreground consumer spending, halal market size and business counts [1] [2], whereas Equi’s broader aggregation explicitly incorporates income, business output and charitable flows to arrive at a larger macroeconomic contribution [7] [3]. The organisations advancing each figure have advocacy purposes: the MCB historically elevates Muslim entrepreneurship and purchasing power for visibility and partnership [2], while Equi pairs economic estimates with warnings about discrimination and potential emigration, an implicit policy lever to combat exclusion [3] [4].
3. What “spending power” actually means — the £20.5bn figure
The most commonly cited single‑year consumer metric is the MCB’s estimate that British Muslims have a spending power of roughly £20.5 billion per annum — a figure repeated across news outlets and the MCB’s own materials [1] [8] [5]. That term generally denotes disposable consumer spending by a demographic group rather than total GDP contribution; it does not, by itself, capture business revenues, taxes paid, or charitable giving unless explicitly folded into a larger accounting framework, which helps explain why Equi’s total is much higher [2] [3].
4. Seasonal and sectoral boosts: Ramadan, halal and business ownership
Beyond annual headline totals, sectoral studies highlight concentrated economic effects: Equi estimates Ramadan alone can add between £800 million and £1.3 billion to the UK economy through retail, hospitality and charitable activity [9], and MCB reporting underscores over £1 billion spent on halal food and substantial Muslim business ownership in London [1]. These pulse‑period and sectoral boosts matter to retailers and local economies and help explain why brands invest in Ramadan campaigns and modest‑fashion lines [9].
5. What reporting does not settle and why caution remains necessary
No single public source in the provided reporting offers a unified, peer‑reviewed national accounting that reconciles the £31bn and £70bn totals with transparent line‑by‑line methodology; the numbers therefore function as persuasive estimates used by different actors to advance distinct narratives: recognition and inclusion versus warnings about discrimination and attrition [1] [3] [4]. Until an agreed, auditable national study is published that reconciles consumer spending, business output, employment, taxes and philanthropy, both figures should be treated as complementary rather than mutually exclusive prisms on British Muslim economic activity.