Oman

• dry desert;
• hot, humid along coast;
• hot, dry interior;
• strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south

• the vast majority of the population is located in and around the Al Hagar Mountains in the north of the country;
• another smaller cluster is found around the city of Salalah in the far south;
• most of the country remains sparsely poplulated

• consists of Oman proper and two northern exclaves, Musandam and Al Madhah;
• the former is a peninsula that occupies a strategic location adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil

noun:

Omani(s)

adjective:

Omani

total:

27.3 years (2024 est.)

male:

28.1 years

female:

26.3 years

• the vast majority of the population is located in and around the Al Hagar Mountains in the north of the country;
• another smaller cluster is found around the city of Salalah in the far south;
• most of the country remains sparsely poplulated

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.24 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.87 male(s)/female

total population:

1.16 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

13.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

15.1 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

12.6 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

77.4 years (2024 est.)

male:

75.5 years

female:

79.4 years

total:

0.47 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

8% (2020 est.)

male:

15.5% (2020 est.)

female:

0.4% (2020 est.)

• limited natural freshwater resources;
• high levels of soil and water salinity in the coastal plains;
• beach pollution from oil spills;
• industrial effluents seeping into the water tables and aquifers;
• desertificaiton due to high winds driving desert sand into arable lands

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• dry desert;
• hot, humid along coast;
• hot, dry interior;
• strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south

urban population:

88.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

2.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

34.88 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

63.46 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

5.6 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal:

130 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

240 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

1.55 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

Sultanate of Oman

conventional short form:

Oman

local long form:

Saltanat Uman

local short form:

Uman

former:

Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

etymology:

the origin of the name is uncertain, but it apparently dates back at least 2,000 years since an "Omana" is mentioned by Pliny the Elder (1st century A.D.) and an "Omanon" by Ptolemy (2nd century A.D.)

name:

Muscat

geographic coordinates:

23 37 N, 58 35 E

time difference:

UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

• the name, whose meaning is uncertain, traces back almost two millennia;
• two 2nd century A.D. scholars, the geographer PTOLEMY and the historian ARRIAN, both mention an Arabian Sea coastal town of Moscha, which most likely referred to Muscat

• 11 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafaza);
• Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Buraymi, Al Wusta, Az Zahirah, Janub al Batinah (Al Batinah South), Janub ash Sharqiyah (Ash Sharqiyah South), Masqat (Muscat), Musandam, Shamal al Batinah (Al Batinah North), Shamal ash Sharqiyah (Ash Sharqiyah North), Zufar (Dhofar)

history:

promulgated by royal decree 6 November 1996 (the Basic Law of the Sultanate of Oman serves as the constitution); amended by royal decree in 2011

amendments:

promulgated by the sultan or proposed by the Council of Oman and drafted by a technical committee as stipulated by royal decree and then promulgated through royal decree; amended by royal decree 2011, 2021

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the father must be a citizen of Oman

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

unknown

• 21 years of age;
• universal;
• note - members of the military and security forces by law cannot vote

chief of state:

Sultan and Prime Minister HAITHAM bin Tarik Al Said (since 11 January 2020)

head of government:

Sultan and Prime Minister HAITHAM bin Tarik Al Said (since 11 January 2020)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the monarch; note - the monarch is both chief of state and head of government

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of 5 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

judges nominated by the 9-member Supreme Judicial Council (chaired by the monarch) and appointed by the monarch; judges appointed for life

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal;
• Administrative Court;
• Courts of First Instance;
• sharia courts;
• magistrates' courts;
• military courts

chief of mission:

Ambassador Moosa Hamdan Moosa AL TAI (since 17 February 2021)

chancery:

2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 387-1980

FAX:

[1] (202) 745-4933

email address and website:

[email protected]; Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman, Washington, USA - FM.gov.om

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ana ESCROGIMA (since 4 December 2023)

embassy:

P.C. 115, Madinat Al Sultan Qaboos, Muscat

mailing address:

6220 Muscat Place, Washington DC 20521

telephone:

[968] 2464-3400

FAX:

[968] 2464-3740

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://om.usembassy.gov/

• three horizontal bands of white (top), red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side;
• the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical band;
• white represents peace and prosperity, red recalls battles against foreign invaders, and green symbolizes the Jebel al Akhdar (Green Mountains) and fertility

total World Heritage Sites:

5 (all cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Bahla Fort;
• Archaeological Sites of Bat;
• Land of Frankincense;
• Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman;
• Ancient Qalhat

• high-income, oil-based economy;
• large welfare system;
• growing government debt;
• citizenship-based labor force growth policy;
• US free trade agreement;
• diversifying portfolio;
• high female labor force participation

Fitch rating:

BB- (2020)

Moody's rating:

Ba3 (2020)

Standard & Poors rating: B+ (2020)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

1.8% (2022 est.)

industry:

57% (2022 est.)

services:

44.5% (2022 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

6.8% (2023 est.)

male:

5.5% (2023 est.)

female:

13.3% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

21.8% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

0.2% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

consumption:

31,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

73,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

105,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

1.056 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

211,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

5.373 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

40.754 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

27.364 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

exports:

15.446 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

imports:

1.506 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

651.287 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• Oman has a modern mobile sector which comprises substantial coverage of both 3G and LTE networks;
• in February 2021 commercial 5G services were launched;
• the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a spike in mobile data traffic;
• while Oman’s fixed broadband infrastructure penetration is considered low, it is being improved with the building of fiber-based networks as part of Oman’s Vision 2040 program;
• Oman has also established itself as an important communications hub in the Middle East, with access to numerous submarine cables including the 2Africa submarine cable, which should become available during 2023-2024;
• the 9,800km Oman Australia Cable running from Muscat to Perth, with the potential for a branch line to Djibouti, is making progress and is expected to be completed in December 2021;
• this additional infrastructure will provide considerable additional bandwidth (2021)

domestic:

fixed-line is 13 per 100 and mobile-cellular is 135 per 100 (2021)

international:

• country code - 968;
• landing points for GSA, AAE-1, SeaMeWe-5, Tata TGN-Gulf, FALCON, GBICS/MENA, MENA/Guld Bridge International, TW1, BBG, EIG, OMRAN/EPEG, and POI submarine cables providing connectivity to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2019)

• 1 state-run TV broadcaster;
• TV stations transmitting from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, and Yemen available via satellite TV;
• state-run radio operates multiple stations;
• first private radio station began operating in 2007 and several additional stations now operating (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

2 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 57

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

10,438,241 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

510.43 million (2018) mt-km

total:

60,230 km

paved:

29,685 km (includes 1,943 km of expressways)

unpaved:

30,545 km (2012)

total ports:

7 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

1

small:

4

very small:

2

ports with oil terminals:

6

key ports:

Duqm, Khawr Khasab, Mina Al Fahl, Mina Raysut, Sohar

• the SAF's inventory includes a mix of older and some more modern weapons systems from a variety of suppliers, particularly the UK and the US;
• other suppliers have included China, EU countries, South Africa, and Turkey (2024)