International sukuk (Islamic finance) issuances in Europe 2001-2018

This statistic shows the total number of international sukuk issuances within Europe between January 2001 and December 2018. A sukuk is a financial certificate that complies with Islamic religious law. It has similarities to a bank bond in Western countries, with a difference being that sukuk relies on trust instead of debt. Due to compliance with the Sharia, Islamic finance aims to prioritize transparency, protection of investor's liabilities and certainty of outcome. Additionally, certain investments (such as in alcohol, gambling or pornography) are not allowed.

In recent years, some European countries have started to adopt Sharia-compliant banking to reach out to their Muslim communities. Luxembourg was the first European country to issue a sovereign sukuk on its own, due to the country's legal structures. In 2016, London was the leading center for Islamic finance in Western Europe. In comparison to Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Bahrain and Pakistan it was still relatively small though.