Oman (2002) | Guyana (2001) | |
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) | 10 regions; Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo |
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:
28.19% (male 100,194; female 96,309) 15-64 years: 66.89% (male 234,976; female 231,360) 65 years and over: 4.92% (male 15,324; female 19,018) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest and fishery potential not exploited |
Airports | 143 (2001) | 51 (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 (2002) |
total:
6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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:
45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
214,970 sq km land: 196,850 sq km water: 18,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly smaller than Idaho |
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. | Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966 and became a republic in 1970. In 1989 Guyana launched an Economic Recovery Program, which marked a dramatic reversal from a state-controlled, socialist economy towards a more open, free market system. Results through the first decade have proven encouraging. |
Birth rate | 37.76 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 17.92 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $9.2 billion
expenditures: $6.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$220.1 million expenditures: $286.4 million, including capital expenditures of $86.6 million (1998) |
Capital | Muscat | Georgetown |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January) |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 459 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 | 6 October 1980 |
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:
Co-operative Republic of Guyana conventional short form: Guyana former: British Guiana |
Currency | Omani rial (OMR) | Guyanese dollar (GYD) |
Death rate | 4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.87 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.3 billion (2000 est.) | $1.1 billion (2000) |
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 Ronald D. GODARD embassy: 100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown telephone: [592] (2) 54900 through 54909, 57960 through 57969 FAX: [592] (2) 58497 |
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 Dr. Ali Odeen ISHMAEL chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6900 consulate(s) general: 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 | all of the area west of the Essequibo (river) claimed by Venezuela; Suriname claims area between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Kutari [Koetari] rivers (all headwaters of the Courantyne) |
Economic aid - recipient | $76.4 million (1995) (1995) | $84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997) |
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. | Severe drought and political turmoil contributed to Guyana's negative growth of -1.8% for 1998 following six straight years of growth of 5% or better. Growth came back to a positive 1.8% in 1999 and 3% in 2000. Underlying growth factors have included expansion in the key agricultural and mining sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiative, a more realistic exchange rate, a moderate inflation rate, and continued support by international organizations. President JAGDEO, the former finance minister, is taking steps to reform the economy, including drafting an investment code and restructuring the inefficient and unresponsive public sector. Problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government must persist in efforts to manage its sizable external debt and attract new investment. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.533 billion kWh (2000) | 423.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 8.1 billion kWh (2000) | 455 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
98.9% hydro: 1.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m |
Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation |
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, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | East Indian 49%, black 32%, mixed 12%, Amerindian 6%, white and Chinese 1% |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986) | Guyanese dollars per US dollar - 184.1 (November 2000), 182.2 (2000), 178.0 (1999), 150.5 (1998), 142.4 (1997), 140.4 (1996) |
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 Bharrat JAGDEO (since 11 August 1999); note - assumed presidency after resignation of President JAGAN head of government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since NA December 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president, responsible to the legislature elections: president elected by the majority party in the National Assembly following legislative elections, which must be held at least every five years; elections last held 19 March 2001 (next to be held NA); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Bharrat JAGDEO reelected; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
Exports | $10.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $570 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber |
Exports - partners | Japan 21%, Thailand 18%, China 16%, South Korea 12%, UAE 12%, US 3% (2001) | US 22%, Canada 22%, UK 18%, Netherlands Antilles 11%, Jamaica (1999) |
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 near the top of the vertical band | green, with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a long, yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow, black border between the red and yellow, and a narrow, white border between the yellow and the green |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 40% services: 57% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
34.7% industry: 32.5% services: 32.8% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.4% (2001 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 5 00 N, 59 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | - |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 32,800 km
paved: 9,840 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,960 km (1996) |
total:
7,970 km paved: 590 km unpaved: 7,380 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis |
Imports | $5.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $660 million (c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food |
Imports - partners | UAE 23% (largely reexports), Japan 16%, UK 13%, Italy 7%, Germany 5%, US 5% (2001) | US 29%, Trinidad and Tobago 18%, Netherlands Antilles 16%, UK 7%, Japan (1999) |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | 26 May 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 7.1% (1997 est.) |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper | bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp), textiles, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 21.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 38.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2001 est.) | 5.9% (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, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 620 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,300 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 |
Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court |
Labor force | 920,000 | 245,492 (1992) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
total:
2,462 km border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.08%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 84% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu |
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 with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; 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 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 |
unicameral National Assembly (65 seats, 53 elected by popular vote, 10 elected by the ten Regional Democratic Councils, and 2 elected by the National Congress of Local Democratic Organs; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPP/C 34, PNC 27, GAP and WPA 2, ROAR 1, TUF 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.31 years
male: 70.15 years female: 74.57 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
63.31 years male: 60.52 years female: 66.24 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: approaching 80% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 98.1% male: 98.6% female: 97.5% (1995 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela |
Map references | Middle East | South America |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf:
200 NM or to the outer edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 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:
2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,929 GRT/4,507 DWT ships by type: cargo 2 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Omani Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Royal Omani Police | Guyana Defense Force (GDF; includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Corps), Guyana People's Militia (GPM), Guyana National Service (GNS), Guyana Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2,424.4 million (FY01) | $7 million (FY94) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 12.2% (FY01) | 1.7% (FY94) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 780,292 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
204,938 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 434,026 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
154,259 (2001 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) | Republic Day, 23 February (1970) |
Nationality | noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
noun:
Guyanese (singular and plural) adjective: Guyanese |
Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish |
Net migration rate | 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -8.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | Alliance for Guyana or AFG (includes Guyana Labor Party or GLP and Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert ROOPNARINE]; Guyana Action Party or GAP [leader NA]; Guyana Labor Party or GLP [leader NA]; People's National Congress or PNC [Hugh Desmond HOYTE]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Janet JAGEN]; Rise, Organize and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]; The United Force or TUF [Manzoor NADIR]; Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert ROOPARNINE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Civil Liberties Action Committee or CLAC; Guyana Council of Indian Organizations or GCIO; Rise, Organize and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]; Trades Union Congress or TUC
note: the GCIO and the CLAC are small and active but not well organized |
Population | 2,713,462
note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2002 est.) |
697,181
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.41% (2002 est.) | 0.07% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut | Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 1.4 million (1997) | 420,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
187 km (all dedicated to ore transport) standard gauge: 139 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 48 km 0.914-m gauge |
Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | Christian 50%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 8% |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 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 for long-distance calling domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines international: tropospheric scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 201,000 (1997) | 70,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 59,822 (1997) | 6,100 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | 3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997) |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south |
Total fertility rate | 5.99 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.1 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 12% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | none | 5,900 km (total length of navigable waterways)
note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively |