Southeast Asia is showing signs of a potential consumer boom. Incomes in the region have been on the rise, partly owing to increasing foreign investment as global corporations look to reorganize their supply chains. The area’s increasingly affluent population is also quite young: Its median age of around 30.4 years is considerably younger than that of the U.S., Europe, or China.
This fast-rising group has another distinctive characteristic: About 40% of Southeast Asia’s population, roughly 281 million people, are Muslim, based on Fortune calculations using World Bank data and census figures. And that particular demographic is fast becoming a key consumer group, as both local companies and established multinationals grow even more sensitive to their needs.
