The economy of 57 Islamic countries was hit hard by the global financial and economic crisis, with the real GDP growth likely to drop to 1.2 percent in 2009, a senior economist said here on Thursday.

The statement was made by Zafar Iqbal, senior economist from the Islamic Development Bank, during the senior officials meeting of the 25th Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Countries ( OIC).