Oman (2001) | Marshall Islands (2008) | |
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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) | 33 municipalities; Ailinginae, Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Bikar, Bikini, Bokak, Ebon, Enewetak, Erikub, Jabat, Jaluit, Jemo, Kili, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mejit, Mili, Namorik, Namu, Rongelap, Rongrik, Toke, Ujae, Ujelang, Utirik, Wotho, Wotje |
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.) |
0-14 years: 38.3% (male 12,061/female 11,622)
15-64 years: 58.9% (male 18,634/female 17,775) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 832/female 891) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | coconuts, tomatoes, melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens |
Airports | 143 (2000 est.) | 15 (2007) |
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.) |
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
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.) |
total: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total:
212,460 sq km land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 181.3 sq km
land: 181.3 sq km water: 0 sq km note: the archipelago includes 11,673 sq km of lagoon waters and includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, Kwajalein, Majuro, Rongelap, and Utirik |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | about the size of Washington, DC |
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. | After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the atolls between 1947 and 1962. The Marshall Islands hosts the US Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Reagan Missile Test Site, a key installation in the US missile defense network. |
Birth rate | 37.96 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 32.37 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$4.7 billion expenditures: $5.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $490 million (1999) |
revenues: $42 million
expenditures: $40 million (1999) |
Capital | Muscat | name: Majuro
geographic coordinates: 7 06 N, 171 23 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November; islands border typhoon belt |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 370.4 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 | 1 May 1979 |
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 |
conventional long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands
conventional short form: Marshall Islands local long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands local short form: Marshall Islands abbreviation: RMI former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Marshall Islands District |
Currency | Omani rial (OMR) | - |
Death rate | 4.1 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.66 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.5 billion (2000 est.) | $86.5 million (FY99/00 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Clyde BISHOP
embassy: Oceanside, Mejen Weto, Long Island, Majuro mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379 telephone: [692] 247-4011 FAX: [692] 247-4012 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Banny DE BRUM
chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236 consulate(s) general: Honolulu |
Disputes - international | boundary with the UAE has not been bilaterally defined; northern section in the Musandam Peninsula is an administrative boundary | claims US territory of Wake Island |
Economic aid - recipient | $76.4 million (1995) | $56.56 million more than $1 billion from the US, 1986-2002 (2005) |
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. | US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. Agricultural production, primarily subsistence, is concentrated on small farms; the most important commercial crops are coconuts and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, tuna processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the Amended Compact of Free Association, the US will provide millions of dollars per year to the Marshall Islands (RMI) through 2023, at which time a Trust Fund made up of US and RMI contributions will begin perpetual annual payouts. Government downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, the decline in tourism, and less income from the renewal of fishing vessel licenses have held GDP growth to an average of 1% over the past decade. |
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) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Likiep 10 m |
Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | inadequate supplies of potable water; pollution of Majuro lagoon from household waste and discharges from fishing vessels |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | Micronesian |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986) | the US dollar is used |
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 |
chief of state: President Litokwa TOMEING (since 7 January 2008); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Litokwa TOMEING (since 7 January 2008) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president from among the members of the legislature elections: president elected by Parliament from among its members for a four-year term; election last held 7 January 2008 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Litokwa TOMEING elected president; TOMEING received 18 votes to 15 for incumbent NOTE |
Exports | $11.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $9.1 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | copra cake, coconut oil, handicrafts, fish |
Exports - partners | Japan 27%, China 12%, Thailand 18%, UAE 12%, South Korea 12%, US (1999) | US, Japan, Australia, China (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $19.6 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 40% services: 57% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 31.7%
industry: 14.9% services: 53.4% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.6% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 9 00 N, 168 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | the Marshal Islands Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is used as a US missile test range; island city of Ebeye is the second largest settlement in the Marshall Islands, after the capital of Majuro, and one of the most densely populated locations in the Pacific |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | 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%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $4.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $54.7 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and tobacco |
Imports - partners | UAE 26% (largely reexports), Japan 16%, UK 9%, Italy 7%, Germany 6%, US (1999) | US, Japan, Australia, NZ, Singapore, Fiji, China, Philippines (2006) |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper | copra, tuna processing, tourism, craft items from seashells, wood, and pearls |
Infant mortality rate | 22.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 27.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.62 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.8% (2000 est.) | 3% (2005 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 | ACP, ADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 580 sq km (1993 est.) | 0 sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has non-Islamic judges as well as traditional Islamic judges |
Supreme Court; High Court; Traditional Rights Court |
Labor force | 850,000 (1997 est.) | 14,680 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 21.4%
industry: 20.9% services: 57.7% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,374 km border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 0% other: 95% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 11.11%
permanent crops: 44.44% other: 44.45% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)
note: English (official), widely spoken as a second language |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
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 |
unicameral legislature or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held by November 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independents 33 note: the Council of Chiefs or Ironij is a 12-member body comprised of tribal chiefs that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.04 years male: 69.9 years female: 74.29 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.61 years
male: 68.61 years female: 72.71 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: approaching 80% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.7% male: 93.6% female: 93.7% (1999) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | Oceania, two archipelagic island chains of 29 atolls, each made up of many small islets, and five single islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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.) |
total: 902 ships (1000 GRT or over) 33,260,440 GRT/55,644,008 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 215, cargo 61, carrier 1, chemical tanker 165, combination ore/oil 6, container 171, liquefied gas 28, passenger 6, petroleum tanker 228, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 10, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 857 (Australia 1, Belgium 1, Bermuda 5, Canada 4, Chile 4, China 3, Croatia 4, Cyprus 39, Denmark 9, Finland 2, Germany 214, Greece 226, Hong Kong 4, Italy 3, Japan 5, South Korea 3, Latvia 10, Malaysia 3, Monaco 7, Netherlands 5, Norway 62, Romania 1, Russia 4, Saudi Arabia 4, Singapore 12, Slovenia 3, Spain 3, Sweden 1, Switzerland 14, Turkey 41, UAE 14, UK 17, US 129) (2007) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary (includes Royal Oman Police) | no regular military forces; under the 1983 Compact of Free Association, the US has full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the Marshall Islands; Marshall Islands Police (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2.4 billion (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 13% (FY00) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
771,919 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
429,811 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 14 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
26,469 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | Constitution Day, 1 May (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Omani(s) adjective: Omani |
noun: Marshallese (singular and plural)
adjective: Marshallese |
Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | infrequent typhoons |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | coconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals |
Net migration rate | 0.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -5.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | traditionally there have been no formally organized political parties; what has existed more closely resembles factions or interest groups because they do not have party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures; the following two "groupings" have competed in legislative balloting in recent years - Aelon Kein Ad Party [Michael KABUA] and United Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 2,622,198
note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2001 est.) |
61,815 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.43% (2001 est.) | 2.207% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (additionally, the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Services (Central Pacific Network) operate one FM and one AM station on Kwajalein) (2005) |
Radios | 1.4 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | Protestant 54.8%, Assembly of God 25.8%, Roman Catholic 8.4%, Bukot nan Jesus 2.8%, Mormon 2.1%, other Christian 3.6%, other 1%, none 1.5% (1999 census) |
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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.934 male(s)/female total population: 1.041 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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 | 18 years of age; universal |
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 |
general assessment: digital switching equipment; modern services include telex, cellular, internet, international calling, caller ID, and leased data circuits
domestic: Majuro Atoll and Ebeye and Kwajalein islands have regular, seven-digit, direct-dial telephones; other islands interconnected by high frequency radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) and mini-satellite telephones international: country code - 692; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 201,000 (1997) | 4,500 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 59,822 (1997) | 600 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | 2 (both are US military stations; Marshalls Broadcasting Service, a cable company, operates on Majuro) (2005) |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | low coral limestone and sand islands |
Total fertility rate | 6.04 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.76 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 30.9% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |