Study reveals local authority regions & counties where most Zakat donated
Melanie May | 23 November 2023 | News
A new study by UK charity National Zakat Foundation has revealed the local authority regions and counties where Muslims are donating the most Zakat – with the City of London and Northumberland topping the lists.
The study analysed internal data from National Zakat Foundation’s Zakat Live, finding the total amount of Zakat donated across 12 months from each local authority in England and Wales, compared to the number of Muslims who live in the area to find which regions are donating the most per person.
Zakat, an obligatory part of the Islamic faith, is a type of wealth tax which requires Muslims who can, to give 2.5% of their qualifying wealth to charity, which is redistributed to Muslims in need.
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Topping the list is the City of London, where £21,946 of Zakat was given across the twelve month period, by a population of 540 Muslims who reported living there in the recent census. Although having one of the smallest numbers of Muslims in the region, the population within the borough have the highest gross disposable household income in England and Wales.
Cambridge has taken second place, where £83,081 of Zakat was given during the year by 7,392 Muslims, followed in third place by Epping Forest, where £41,139 of Zakat was given by 4,699 Muslims. Both locations also fall into the top third of local authorities with the highest gross disposable household income.
The 10 Local Authorities Where Muslims Are Donating the Most
County figures
To find out the counties where Muslims are donating the most, the charity took the amounts from the local authorities within those areas and added them together.
The 10 Counties Where Muslims Are Donating the Most
Topping the list is Northumberland, where the small Muslim population of 1,635 still saw £5,815 of Zakat during the twelve month period analysed.
Cambridgeshire has taken second place, where £103,784 of Zakat was given during the year by 40,192 Muslims. Following in third place is Surrey, with £95,785 of Zakat given by 38,138 Muslims.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.