Oman (2002) | Bahamas, The (2008) | |
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 on Geographic Names (BGN) | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 27% (male 41,268/female 41,186)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 99,961/female 103,230) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 8,176/female 11,834) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | citrus, vegetables; poultry |
Airports | 143 (2001) | 62 (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 (2002) |
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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) |
total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 22 (2007) |
Area | total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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. | Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher COLUMBUS first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US and Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. |
Birth rate | 37.76 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 17.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $9.2 billion
expenditures: $6.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.03 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion (FY04/05) |
Capital | Muscat | name: Nassau
geographic coordinates: 25 05 N, 77 21 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 3,542 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 | 10 July 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: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
Currency | Omani rial (OMR) | - |
Death rate | 4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.3 billion (2000 est.) | $342.6 million (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ned L. SIEGEL
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; US Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 356-3229 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Cornelius A. SMITH
chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York |
Disputes - international | 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 | disagrees with the US on the alignment of a potential maritime boundary; continues to monitor and interdict drug dealers and Haitian refugees in Bahamian waters |
Economic aid - recipient | $76.4 million (1995) (1995) | $4.78 million (2004) |
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. GDP growth improved in 2001 despite the global slowdown. | The Bahamas is one of the wealthiest Caribbean countries with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism together with tourism-driven construction and manufacturing accounts for approximately 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but tourist arrivals have been on the decline since 2006. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy and, when combined with business services, account for about 36% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture combined contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector. Tourism, in turn, depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.533 billion kWh (2000) | 1.762 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 8.1 billion kWh (2000) | 1.894 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal |
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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986) | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2007), 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Arthur D. HANNA (since 1 February 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Hubert A. INGRAHAM (since 4 May 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
Exports | $10.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | transshipments of 41,290 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables |
Exports - partners | Japan 21%, Thailand 18%, China 16%, South Korea 12%, UAE 12%, US 3% (2001) | Spain 22.3%, US 19.8%, Poland 13.5%, Germany 13%, UK 5.7%, Guatemala 4.9% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 near the top of the vertical band | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 40% services: 57% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.4% (2001 est.) | 2.8% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 24 15 N, 76 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | 1 (2007) |
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%: 27% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center |
Imports | $5.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 68,250 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals |
Imports - partners | UAE 23% (largely reexports), Japan 16%, UK 13%, Italy 7%, Germany 5%, US 5% (2001) | US 24.7%, Brazil 15.7%, Japan 13.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 6.2% (2006) |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | 10 July 1973 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper | tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe |
Infant mortality rate | 21.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 24.17 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2001 est.) | 2.4% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 620 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has non-Islamic judges as well as traditional Islamic judges |
Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts |
Labor force | 920,000 | 181,900 (2006) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.08%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.58%
permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
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 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (41 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the Parliament and call elections at any time
elections: last held 2 May 2007 (next to be called by May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - FNM 49.86%, PLP 47.02%; seats by party - FNM 23, PLP 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.31 years
male: 70.15 years female: 74.57 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 65.66 years
male: 62.37 years female: 69.02 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: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba |
Map references | Middle East | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | 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.) |
total: 1,213 ships (1000 GRT or over) 40,403,455 GRT/54,276,183 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 225, cargo 240, chemical tanker 84, combination ore/oil 13, container 72, liquefied gas 49, livestock carrier 2, passenger 117, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 196, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 18, specialized tanker 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 39 foreign-owned: 1,134 (Angola 6, Australia 3, Belgium 15, Bermuda 12, Brazil 1, Canada 13, China 9, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 20, Denmark 66, Finland 8, France 43, Germany 40, Greece 214, Hong Kong 3, Iceland 1, Indonesia 3, Ireland 2, Italy 1, Japan 62, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Malaysia 11, Monaco 11, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway 232, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Russia 5, Saudi Arabia 15, Singapore 9, Slovenia 1, South Africa 1, Spain 11, Sweden 5, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 5, UAE 20, UK 68, US 162, Uruguay 1, Venezuela 1) registered in other countries: 3 (Barbados 1, Panama 2) (2007) |
Military branches | Royal Omani Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Royal Omani Police | Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2,424.4 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 12.2% (FY01) | 0.5% (2006) |
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 | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 2,713,462
note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2002 est.) |
305,655
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 9.3% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 3.41% (2002 est.) | 0.602% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006) |
Radios | 1.4 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.002 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.968 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.691 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 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: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed; the Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network links 14 of the islands and is designed to satisfy increasing demand for voice and broadband internet services international: country code - 1-242; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 2 (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 201,000 (1997) | 133,100 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 59,822 (1997) | 227,800 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | 2 (2006) |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills |
Total fertility rate | 5.99 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 7.6% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |