The Arab Spring uprising has stimulated demand for Islamic finance across North Africa, according to the 2012 Top Islamic Financial Institutions report from The Banker, a specialist Financial Times publication providing international banking news, comment and analysis.

Now in its 7th year, The Banker’s Top Islamic Financial Institutions report shows strong growth in the Islamic finance industry, with total assets increasing 18.5% from 2011-2012 to total $1,166 billion. In early 2012, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco announced their intentions to start issuing sukuk (Islamic bonds) to get a slice of the growing global sukuk market – valued at $84.4 billion in 2011.

The report reveals Egypt is among those countries with the strongest potentials for growth in Islamic finance, with its Islamic banking sector recording a return on assets (ROA) ratio of 1.29% in 2011 compared to 0.85% for conventional banking. The top-performing market was Iraq which achieved an impressive ROA of 3.85% for its Islamic banking sector, compared to 2.27% for its conventional.

With the global Muslim population today estimated at $1.6 billion – equivalent to 22% of the world’s population – the growth potential of the industry is indisputable.

For more insight, view the report here: