Oman (2001) | Indian Ocean (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 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 of Geographic Names (BGN) | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
41.51% (male 554,727; female 533,627) 15-64 years: 56.12% (male 894,978; female 576,672) 65 years and over: 2.37% (male 32,863; female 29,331) (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | - |
Airports | 143 (2000 est.) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
6 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
137 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 56 914 to 1,523 m: 37 under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
212,460 sq km land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 68.556 million sq km
note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | about 5.5 times the size of the US |
Background | 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. | The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south latitude. |
Birth rate | 37.96 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues:
$4.7 billion expenditures: $5.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $490 million (1999) |
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Capital | Muscat | - |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 66,526 km |
Constitution | 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:
Sultanate of Oman conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman former: Muscat and Oman |
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Currency | Omani rial (OMR) | - |
Death rate | 4.1 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $4.5 billion (2000 est.) | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John B. CRAIG embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: international: P. O. Box 202, Code No. 115, Medinat Al-Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 698989 FAX: [968] 699189 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Abdallah bin Muhammad bin Aqil al-DHAHAB chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933 |
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Disputes - international | boundary with the UAE has not been bilaterally defined; northern section in the Musandam Peninsula is an administrative boundary | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) |
Economic aid - recipient | $76.4 million (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | 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. | The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.026 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 8.63 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
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Ethnic groups | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | - |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986) | - |
Executive branch | 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 |
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Exports | $11.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | - |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | - |
Exports - partners | Japan 27%, China 12%, Thailand 18%, UAE 12%, South Korea 12%, US (1999) | - |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
Flag description | 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 at the top of the vertical band | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $19.6 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 40% services: 57% (1999 est.) |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.6% (2000 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 20 00 S, 80 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
32,800 km paved: 9,840 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,960 km (1996) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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Imports | $4.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | - |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | - |
Imports - partners | UAE 26% (largely reexports), Japan 16%, UK 9%, Italy 7%, Germany 6%, US (1999) | - |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | - |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper | - |
Infant mortality rate | 22.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.8% (2000 est.) | - |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, 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 | 580 sq km (1993 est.) | - |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has non-Islamic judges as well as traditional Islamic judges |
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Labor force | 850,000 (1997 est.) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | - |
Land boundaries | total:
1,374 km border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
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Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 0% other: 95% (1993 est.) |
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Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | - |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | - |
Legislative branch | 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, 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 Majlis al-Shura, about 100,000 people voted |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.04 years male: 69.9 years female: 74.29 years (2001 est.) |
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Literacy | definition:
NA total population: approaching 80% male: NA% female: NA% |
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Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia |
Map references | Middle East | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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Merchant marine | total:
4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,167 GRT/11,307 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
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Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary (includes Royal Oman Police) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2.4 billion (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 13% (FY00) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
771,919 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
429,811 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 14 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
26,469 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | - |
Nationality | noun:
Omani(s) adjective: Omani |
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Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules |
Net migration rate | 0.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 2,622,198
note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 3.43% (2001 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | - |
Radios | 1.4 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | - |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.55 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female total population: 1.3 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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Suffrage | 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:
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 |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 201,000 (1997) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 59,822 (1997) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | - |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge |
Total fertility rate | 6.04 children born/woman (2001 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |
Waterways | none | - |