ISLAM AND THE MODERN WORLD

In the year 2002 there were nearly 6,2 billion people in the world. Of these 1.25 billion were Muslims, 90 percent Sunnis and 10 percent Shi’as. About 80 percent of all Muslims in the world lived in 57 countries who were members of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC). Detailed statistics about these countries can be found in the Appendices. On average 80 % of the population of the OIC countries was Muslim. Thus there were as many nonmuslims in the Muslim countries as there were Muslims in the rest of the world. The following table gives the basic statistics:

	World	OIC Members	OIC total as World %
Area sq km	130,295,148	31,209,703	23.95
Population	6,106,267,299	1,334,608,993	21.86
No of Muslims	1,252,754,259	1,047,815,624	83.64
Total GDP in billion US dollars	32,067.115	1,465	4.57
Purchasing Power Parity	100	9	8.97
Per Capita GDP in US dollars	5,251.51	1,097	20.90
Economic Growth rate percent	2.09	4	212.65
Inflation Rate percent	2.55	10	395.74
Population density, people per sq km	47	43	91.49

The 57 OIC countries include: AFGHANISTAN, ALBANIA, ALGERIA, AZERBAIJAN, BAHRAIN, BANGLADESH, BENIN, BRUNEI DARESSALAM, BURKINA FASO, CAMEROON, CHAD, COMOROS, COTE D IVOIRE, DJIBOUTI, EGYPT, GABON, GAMBIA THE, GUINEA, GUINEA-BISSAU, GUYANA, INDONESIA, IRAN I.R. OF, IRAQ, JORDAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KUWAIT, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC, LEBANON, LIBYA, MALAYSIA, MALDIVES, MALI, MAURITANIA, MOROCCO, MOZAMBIQUE, NIGER, NIGERIA, OMAN, PAKISTAN, PALESTINE, QATAR, SAUDI ARABIA, SENEGAL, SIERRA LEONE, SOMALIA, SUDAN, SURINAME, SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC, TAJIKISTAN, TOGO, TUNISIA, TURKEY, TURKMENISTAN, UGANDA, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, UZBEKISTAN, YEMEN REPUBLIC OF.

Economic Power

As can be seen in the table above the 57 Muslim countries that are home to nearly 22 % of the world population contribute less than 5 % of the World’s Gross Domestic Product in US dollar terms. The under-valuation of their currencies and their trading disadvantage can be judged by the fact that although their Purchasing Power Parity is nearly 9 % of the World, the GDP is only half that value. This means that their currencies are on average valued against the US dollar at nearly half the rate they deserve. Although there is much publicity about the economic power and affluence of the Oil exporting Muslim countries of the Middle East, they hardly play a significant role in the overall economic or trading scenario of the world. The reasons are simple. These countries are literally defenseless and have to depend on others for the exploitation of their natural wealth. The following Table compares the combined economic performance of the Muslim countries with other significant groups. Detailed statistics of the groups can be found in the appendices.

Groups*	Total Area as % of World	Total Population as % of World	Average per capita Gross Domestic Product US$	Combined Purchasing Power Parity World %	Total Gross Domestic Product World %	Ratio of World % GDP to PPP	Average Annual Inflation Rate %	Average Population density per sq km	Average Annual GDP growth rate %
G-7	16	12	30,112	44.02	66.5	1.45	1.63	22	1.47
22 Richest per capita	24	13	29,665	50	75	1.5	1.32	26	1.52
20 Largest GDP	54	60	7,556	77	86	1.12	1.73	51	2.05
20 Highest PPP	56	66	6,714	79	84	1.06	2.12	55	2.18
11 Oil Exporters	9	9	1,571	6.00	4.0	0.67	6.73	41	1.08
57 Muslim Countries	24	22	1,097	8.97	4.57	0.51	10.09	43	4.44
22 Deprived Countries	40	66	919	32	11	0.36	6.86	77	5.37
20 Poorest Countries	7	6	175	0.18	0.20	1.11	11.52	42	5.33
World Average	100	100	5,251	100	100	1.00	2.55	47	2.09

* For lists of countries in each group, refer to Appendix-1.