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Country story

United Arab Emirates

The UAE combines dedicated Islamic institutions and Islamic windows within a federally supervised financial system.

The Central Bank’s Higher Sharīʿah Authority sets standards and oversees internal Sharīʿah supervisory committees.

Islamic banking assets305.98B2024
Manufacturing value added10.67 % of GDP2023
Median largest disclosed shareholding39.32 % of disclosed equity2024 · median across 10 qualifying banks
How Islamic finance is organised

The Central Bank’s Higher Sharīʿah Authority sets standards and oversees internal Sharīʿah supervisory committees.

Why this case matters

The UAE shows a highly financialised regional hub in which centralised governance and market expansion develop together.

Central tension

Standardisation can strengthen institutional coherence while leaving sectoral allocation and ownership concentration open to investigation.

What cannot be inferred

The 2022 manufacturing value conflicts within the private workbooks and is withheld from research-workbook validation.

Descriptive comparison

Manufacturing value added

Latest available year: 2023.

7.458.349.2410.1311.0220092013201720202024YearManufacturing value added (% of GDP)
United Arab Emirates
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United Arab Emirates Manufacturing value added trajectory in original units. Values for Year and Manufacturing value added (% of GDP) by series.
SeriesYearManufacturing value added (% of GDP)Source note
United Arab Emirates · 20102,0108.27Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20112,0117.97Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20122,0127.92Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20132,0137.74Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20142,0147.91Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20152,0158.89Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20162,0169.02Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20172,0179.08Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20182,0188.65Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20192,0198.54Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20202,02010.07Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20212,0219.83Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20222,0229.65Authorised country-level annual series
United Arab Emirates · 20232,02310.67Authorised country-level annual series

What this visual showsA verified country trajectory in the measure’s stated unit.

What it does not establishA causal effect of Islamic finance on the observed outcome.

Descriptive comparison

Financing directed towards FIRE-related activities

Country-year medians by bank type. Each point reports its covered-bank count.

FIRE ordinarily refers to finance, insurance and real estate. Here the measure is broader: it captures bank financing reported for financial institutions, insurance, real estate and consumer-durable activities. It is used as a proxy for firm-level financialisation. The measure does not imply that every underlying financing claim is speculative, harmful or unproductive. It is a sectoral-allocation proxy and a level measure that is sensitive to bank size.

20.0822.3924.727.0229.3319992005201120172023YearLogged FIRE-related financing volume (natural log) (natural-log units)
IslamicConventional
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United Arab Emirates descriptive medians by bank type, 2000 to 2022 where observations are available. Values for Year and Logged FIRE-related financing volume (natural log) (natural-log units) by series.
SeriesYearLogged FIRE-related financing volume (natural log) (natural-log units)Source note
Islamic · 20002,00020.832 covered banks
Islamic · 20012,00121.042 covered banks
Conventional · 20022,00227.851 covered bank
Islamic · 20022,00221.152 covered banks
Conventional · 20032,00325.85 covered banks
Islamic · 20032,00321.052 covered banks
Conventional · 20042,00425.789 covered banks
Islamic · 20042,00421.382 covered banks
Conventional · 20052,00525.798 covered banks
Islamic · 20052,00522.072 covered banks
Conventional · 20062,00626.489 covered banks
Islamic · 20062,00622.492 covered banks
Conventional · 20072,00726.99 covered banks
Islamic · 20072,007224 covered banks
Conventional · 20082,00826.8410 covered banks
Islamic · 20082,00822.524 covered banks
Conventional · 20092,00925.825 covered banks
Islamic · 20092,00922.74 covered banks
Conventional · 20102,01027.476 covered banks
Islamic · 20102,01021.864 covered banks
Conventional · 20112,01125.74 covered banks
Islamic · 20112,01122.045 covered banks
Conventional · 20122,01225.664 covered banks
Islamic · 20122,01222.095 covered banks
Conventional · 20132,01328.1112 covered banks
Islamic · 20132,01322.225 covered banks
Conventional · 20142,01428.0713 covered banks
Islamic · 20142,01422.425 covered banks
Conventional · 20152,01528.2614 covered banks
Islamic · 20152,01522.635 covered banks
Conventional · 20162,01628.1914 covered banks
Islamic · 20162,01622.685 covered banks
Conventional · 20172,01728.2213 covered banks
Islamic · 20172,01722.595 covered banks
Conventional · 20182,01828.2414 covered banks
Islamic · 20182,01822.655 covered banks
Conventional · 20192,01928.4214 covered banks
Islamic · 20192,01922.695 covered banks
Conventional · 20202,02028.2914 covered banks
Islamic · 20202,02022.785 covered banks
Conventional · 20212,02128.0314 covered banks
Islamic · 20212,02122.855 covered banks
Conventional · 20222,02227.9713 covered banks
Islamic · 20222,02222.915 covered banks

What this visual showsDescriptive median logged volumes among covered banks.

What it does not establishA bank-size-adjusted or causal difference between bank types.

Institutional sources