Oman (2001) | Syria (2003) | |
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) | 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus |
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: 38.6% (male 3,494,473; female 3,290,699)
15-64 years: 58.2% (male 5,238,026; female 4,991,588) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 274,744; female 296,010) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
Airports | 143 (2000 est.) | 92 (2002) |
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: 24
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 68
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 55 (2002) |
Area | total:
212,460 sq km land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly larger than North Dakota |
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. | Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. |
Birth rate | 37.96 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 29.54 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$4.7 billion expenditures: $5.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $490 million (1999) |
revenues: $6 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2002 est.) |
Capital | Muscat | Damascus |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 193 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 | 13 March 1973 |
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: Syrian Arab Republic
conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt) |
Currency | Omani rial (OMR) | Syrian pound (SYP) |
Death rate | 4.1 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.04 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.5 billion (2000 est.) | $22 billion (2002 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 Theodore H. KATTOUF
embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342 FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678 |
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 (acting) Imad MUSTAFA
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
Disputes - international | boundary with the UAE has not been bilaterally defined; northern section in the Musandam Peninsula is an administrative boundary | Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province |
Economic aid - recipient | $76.4 million (1995) | $199 million (1997 est.) |
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. | Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing, on average, more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. External factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq probably will drive real annual GDP growth levels back below their 3.5% spike in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.026 billion kWh (1999) | 21.63 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 8.63 billion kWh (1999) | 23.26 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 57.6%
hydro: 42.4% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water |
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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986) | Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.23 (2002), 11.23 (2001), 11.23 (2000), 11.23 (1999), 11.23 (1998), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999), 52 (1998) |
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 Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000 |
Exports | $11.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | crude oil 70%, petroleum products 7%, fruits and vegetables 5%, cotton fiber 4%, clothing 3%, meat and live animals 2% (2000 est.) |
Exports - partners | Japan 27%, China 12%, Thailand 18%, UAE 12%, South Korea 12%, US (1999) | Germany 19.1%, Italy 17.5%, Turkey 7.8%, France 7.5%, Lebanon 5.2% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar 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 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $19.6 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $63.48 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 40% services: 57% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 27%
industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.6% (2000 est.) | 3.6% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 7 (2002) |
Highways | total:
32,800 km paved: 9,840 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,960 km (1996) |
total: 43,381 km
paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 33,360 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets |
Imports | $4.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) |
Imports - partners | UAE 26% (largely reexports), Japan 16%, UK 9%, Italy 7%, Germany 6%, US (1999) | Italy 8.3%, Germany 7.4%, China 5.7%, South Korea 4.8%, France 4.6%, US 4.4%, Turkey 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
Infant mortality rate | 22.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 31.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 31.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.8% (2000 est.) | 0.9% (2002 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 | AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 580 sq km (1993 est.) | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has non-Islamic judges as well as traditional Islamic judges |
Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
Labor force | 850,000 (1997 est.) | 5.2 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture, industry, services NA (2002) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,374 km border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 0% other: 95% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 25.96%
permanent crops: 4.08% other: 69.96% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; 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 |
unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2-3 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.04 years male: 69.9 years female: 74.29 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 69.39 years
male: 68.18 years female: 70.67 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: approaching 80% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 41 NM
territorial sea: 35 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: 129 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 450,135 GRT/645,296 DWT
ships by type: bulk 13, cargo 109, container 2, livestock carrier 3, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 2, Italy 1, Lebanon 10 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary (includes Royal Oman Police) | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2.4 billion (FY00) | $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 13% (FY00) | 5.9% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
771,919 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 4,715,386 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
429,811 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,629,148 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 14 years of age | 19 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
26,469 (2001 est.) |
males: 210,941 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
Nationality | noun:
Omani(s) adjective: Omani |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km | gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | none | National Progressive Front or NPF (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general], Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al ASAD], Syrian Communist Party [leader NA], Unionist Socialist Party [leader NA], Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani QANNUT], and Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Sami SUFAN]) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence |
Population | 2,622,198
note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2001 est.) |
17,585,540 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (February 2003 est.) (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 15%-25% |
Population growth rate | 3.43% (2001 est.) | 2.45% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 1.4 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,743 km
standard gauge: 2,425 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 318 km 1.050-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2003 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: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel |
Telephones - main lines in use | 201,000 (1997) | 1.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 59,822 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
Total fertility rate | 6.04 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.72 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 20% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 870 km (minimal economic importance) |