Oman (2002) | Reunion (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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) | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
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: 30.4% (male 120,698/female 115,108)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 243,668/female 250,143) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 19,234/female 28,097) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 143 (2001) | 2 (2004 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: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 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) |
- |
Area | total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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 Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 37.76 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $9.2 billion
expenditures: $6.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998) |
Capital | Muscat | Saint-Denis |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 207 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 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | Omani rial (OMR) | - |
Death rate | 4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.3 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $76.4 million (1995) (1995) | NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 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. GDP growth improved in 2001 despite the global slowdown. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.533 billion kWh (2000) | 1.084 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 8.1 billion kWh (2000) | 1.166 billion kWh (2002) |
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: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | NA |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986) | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Laurent CAYREL (since 16 July 2005)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $10.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | Japan 21%, Thailand 18%, China 16%, South Korea 12%, UAE 12%, US 3% (2001) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 40% services: 57% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.4% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 32,800 km
paved: 9,840 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,960 km (1996) |
total: 1,214 km (including 88 km of four-lane roads) (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $5.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | UAE 23% (largely reexports), Japan 16%, UK 13%, Italy 7%, Germany 5%, US 5% (2001) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 21.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2001 est.) | NA% |
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 | InOC, UPU, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 620 sq km (1998 est.) | 120 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 |
Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 920,000 | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (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: 0.08%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 13.6%
permanent crops: 1.2% other: 85.2% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French 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 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.31 years
male: 70.15 years female: 74.57 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 73.95 years
male: 70.55 years female: 77.52 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: approaching 80% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Middle East | World |
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 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (France 1) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Royal Omani Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Royal Omani Police | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2,424.4 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 12.2% (FY01) | - |
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) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 2,713,462
note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2002 est.) |
776,948 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.41% (2002 est.) | 1.38% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut | Le Port |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 1.4 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 201,000 (1997) | 300,000 est (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 59,822 (1997) | 489,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 5.99 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.47 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 36% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |