Canada (2005) | Oman (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory* | 6 regions (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah) and 2 governorates* (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat, Musandam*, Zufar*; note - the US Embassy in Oman reports that Masqat is a governorate, but this has not been confirmed by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.9% (male 3,016,032/female 2,869,244)
15-64 years: 68.9% (male 11,357,425/female 11,244,356) 65 years and over: 13.2% (male 1,842,496/female 2,475,488) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 579,065; female 556,923)
15-64 years: 55.7% (male 914,494; female 597,948) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 34,555; female 30,477) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish |
Airports | 1,326 (2004 est.) | 143 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 503
over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 150 914 to 1,523 m: 245 under 914 m: 75 (2004 est.) |
total: 6
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 823
1,524 to 2,437 m: 67 914 to 1,523 m: 347 under 914 m: 409 (2004 est.) |
total: 133
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 55 914 to 1,523 m: 37 under 914 m: 32 (2002) |
Area | total: 9,984,670 sq km
land: 9,093,507 sq km water: 891,163 sq km |
total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | somewhat larger than the US | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada's paramount political problem is meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services after a decade of budget cuts. The issue of reconciling Quebec's francophone heritage with the majority anglophone Canadian population has moved to the back burner in recent years; support for separatism abated after the Quebec government's referendum on independence failed to pass in October of 1995. | In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al Said ousted his father and has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a long-standing political and military relationship with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. |
Birth rate | 10.84 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 37.76 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $151 billion
expenditures: $144 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $9.2 billion
expenditures: $6.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Ottawa | Muscat |
Climate | varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south |
Coastline | 202,080 km | 2,092 km |
Constitution | made up of unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions, and traditions; the written part of the constitution consists of the Constitution Act of 29 March 1867, which created a federation of four provinces, and the Constitution Act of 17 April 1982, which transferred formal control over the constitution from Britain to Canada, and added a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as procedures for constitutional amendments | none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a new basic law which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Canada |
conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman
conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman former: Muscat and Oman |
Currency | - | Omani rial (OMR) |
Death rate | 7.73 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $570 billion (2004) | $5.3 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador David H. WILKINS
embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburgh, NY 13669-0430 telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470 FAX: [1] (613) 688-3082 consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg |
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Lewis BALTIMORE III
embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: international: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Al-Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 698989, extension 203 FAX: [968] 699771 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Francis Joseph MCKENNA
chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740 FAX: [1] (202) 682-7726 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle consulate(s): Anchorage, Houston, Philadelphia, Princeton, Raleigh, San Francisco, and San Jose |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Ali AL KHUSAIBY
chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933 |
Disputes - international | managed maritime boundary disputes with the US at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; working toward greater cooperation with US in monitoring people and commodities crossing the border; uncontested sovereignty dispute with Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland | Oman signed a boundary treaty with the UAE in 1999, but the completed boundary is not expected until the end of 2002; undefined segments of the Oman-UAE boundary remain with Ra's al-Khaymah and Ash Shariqah (Sharjah) emirates, including the Musandam Peninsula, where an administrative boundary substitutes for an international boundary |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $2 billion (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $76.4 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, newly entered in the trillion dollar class, Canada closely resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and affluent living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Solid fiscal management has produced a long-term budget surplus which is substantially reducing the national debt, although public debate continues over how to manage the rising cost of the publicly funded healthcare system. Exports account for roughly a third of GDP. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with its principal trading partner, the United States, which absorbs more than 85% of Canadian exports. | Oman's economic performance improved significantly in 2000 due largely to the upturn in oil prices. The government is moving ahead with privatization of its utilities, the development of a body of commercial law to facilitate foreign investment, and increased budgetary outlays. Oman continues to liberalize its markets and joined the World Trade Organization (WTrO) in November 2000. GDP growth improved in 2001 despite the global slowdown. |
Electricity - consumption | 487.3 billion kWh (2002) | 7.533 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 36.13 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 13 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 548.9 billion kWh (2002) | 8.1 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26% | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African |
Exchange rates | Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.301 (2004), 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001), 1.4851 (2000) | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Michaelle Jean (since 27 October 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Paul MARTIN (since 12 December 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Anne MCLELLAN (since 12 December 2003) cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Commons is automatically designated prime minister by the governor general |
chief of state: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
Exports | 1.37 million bbl/day (2004) | $10.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles |
Exports - partners | US 85.2%, Japan 2.1%, UK 1.6% (2004) | Japan 21%, Thailand 18%, China 16%, South Korea 12%, UAE 12%, US 3% (2001) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | two vertical bands of red (hoist and fly side, half width), with white square between them; an 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square; the official colors of Canada are red and white | three horizontal bands of white, 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 26.4% services: 71.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 40% services: 57% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $31,500 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.4% (2004 est.) | 7.4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 60 00 N, 95 00 W | 21 00 N, 57 00 E |
Geography - note | second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US border | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil |
Heliports | 319 (2004) | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 1,408,800 km
paved: 497,306 km (including 16,900 km of expressways) unpaved: 911,494 km (2002) |
total: 32,800 km
paved: 9,840 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,960 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 23.8% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market and export to US; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; transit point for heroin and cocaine entering the US market; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial services sector | - |
Imports | 987,000 bbl/day (2004) | $5.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants |
Imports - partners | US 58.9%, China 6.8%, Mexico 3.8% (2004) | UAE 23% (largely reexports), Japan 16%, UK 13%, Italy 7%, Germany 5%, US 5% (2001) |
Independence | 1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (independence recognized) | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2004 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products; wood and paper products; fish products, petroleum and natural gas | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.75 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
21.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.9% (2004 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 7,200 sq km (1998 est.) | 620 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice) | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has non-Islamic judges as well as traditional Islamic judges |
Labor force | 17.37 million (2004) | 920,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 3%, manufacturing 15%, construction 5%, services 74%, other 3% (2000) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 8,893 km
border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) |
total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.96%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 95.02% (2001) |
arable land: 0.08%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.7% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5% | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects |
Legal system | based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (members appointed by the governor general with the advice of the prime minister and serve until reaching 75 years of age; its normal limit is 105 senators) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (308 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve for up to five-year terms)
elections: House of Commons - last held 28 June 2004 (next to be held by NA 2009) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 36.7%, Conservative Party 29.6%, New Democratic Party 15.7%, Bloc Quebecois 12.4%, Greens 4.3%, independents 0.4%, other 0.9%; seats by party - Liberal Party 134, Conservative Party 99, Bloc Quebecois 54, New Democratic Party 19, independent 2 |
bicameral Majlis Oman consists of an upper chamber or Majlis al-Dawla (48 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and a lower chamber or Majlis al-Shura (83 seats; members elected by limited suffrage for three-year term, however, the monarch makes final selections and can negate election results; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers)
elections: last held NA September 2000 (next to be held NA September 2003) election results: NA; note - two women were elected for the first time to the Majlis al-Shura, about 100,000 people voted |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.1 years
male: 76.73 years female: 83.63 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 72.31 years
male: 70.15 years female: 74.57 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% (1986 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: NA
total population: approaching 80% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north, north of the conterminous US | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE |
Map references | North America | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 169 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,784,229 GRT/2,657,499 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 22, cargo 49, chemical tanker 6, combination ore/oil 1, container 1, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 65, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 6 foreign-owned: 6 (France 1, Germany 3, United States 2) registered in other countries: 112 (2005) |
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,291 GRT/9,457 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Singapore 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Canadian Armed Forces: Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Canada Command (homeland security) to be operational in early 2006 (2005) | Royal Omani Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Royal Omani Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $9,801.7 million (2003) | $2,424.4 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.1% (2003) | 12.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 780,292 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 434,026 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 14 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 26,470 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Canada Day, 1 July (1867) | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) |
Nationality | noun: Canadian(s)
adjective: Canadian |
noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
Natural hazards | continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude and refined oil 23,564 km; liquid petroleum gas 74,980 km (2003) | crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km |
Political parties and leaders | Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE]; Conservative Party of Canada (a merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party) [Stephen HARPER]; Green Party [Jim HARRIS]; Liberal Party [Paul MARTIN]; New Democratic Party [Jack LAYTON] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 32,805,041 (July 2005 est.) | 2,713,462
note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.9% (2005 est.) | 3.41% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fraser River Port, Goderich, Montreal, Port Cartier, Quebec, Saint John's (Newfoundland), Sept Isles, Vancouver | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 245, FM 582, shortwave 6 (2004) | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.4 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 48,683 km
standard gauge: 48,683 km 1.435-m gauge (2004) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (including United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified 11.8%, none 16% (2001 census) | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.53 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.29 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | in Oman's most recent elections in 2000, limited to approximately 175,000 Omanis chosen by the government to vote in elections for the Majlis ash-Shura |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent service provided by modern technology
domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations international: country code - 1-xxx; 5 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
general assessment: modern system consisting of open wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable
domestic: open wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19,950,900 (2003) | 201,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13,221,800 (2003) | 59,822 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 80 (plus many repeaters) (1997) | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south |
Total fertility rate | 1.61 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 5.99 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7% (2004) | NA% |
Waterways | 631 km
note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with United States (2003) |
none |