Oman (2002) | Tunisia (2004) | |
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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 on Geographic Names (BGN) | 24 governorates; Ariana (Aryanah), Beja (Bajah), Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), Bizerte (Banzart), Gabes (Qabis), Gafsa (Qafsah), Jendouba (Jundubah), Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), Kasserine (Al Qasrayn), Kebili (Qibili), Kef (Al Kaf), Mahdia (Al Mahdiyah), Manouba (Manubah), Medenine (Madanin), Monastir (Al Munastir), Nabeul (Nabul), Sfax (Safaqis), Sidi Bou Zid (Sidi Bu Zayd), Siliana (Silyanah), Sousse (Susah), Tataouine (Tatawin), Tozeur (Tawzar), Tunis, Zaghouan (Zaghwan) |
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: 26% (male 1,337,546; female 1,253,814)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 3,373,199; female 3,360,402) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 315,151; female 334,610) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | olives, olive oil, grain, dairy products, tomatoes, citrus fruit, beef, sugar beets, dates, almonds |
Airports | 143 (2001) | 30 (2003 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: 14
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (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) |
total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 163,610 sq km
land: 155,360 sq km water: 8,250 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly larger than Georgia |
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 independence from France in 1956, President Habib BOURGUIBA established a strict one-party state. He dominated the country for 31 years, repressing Islamic fundamentalism and establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation. In recent years, Tunisia has taken a moderate, non-aligned stance in its foreign relations. Domestically, it has sought to defuse rising pressure for a more open political society. |
Birth rate | 37.76 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 15.74 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $9.2 billion
expenditures: $6.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $6.101 billion
expenditures: $6.855 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2003 est.) |
Capital | Muscat | Tunis |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 1,148 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 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988 |
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: Tunisian Republic
conventional short form: Tunisia local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah local short form: Tunis |
Currency | Omani rial (OMR) | Tunisian dinar (TND) |
Death rate | 4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.05 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.3 billion (2000 est.) | $14.39 billion (2003 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 William J. HUDSON
embassy: Zone Nord-Est des Berges du Lac Nord de Tunis, 2045 La Goulette, Tunisia mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [216] 71 107-000 FAX: [216] 71 962-115 |
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 (vacant); Charge d' Affaires Tarek Azouz
chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850 FAX: [1] (202) 862-1858 |
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) | $378 million (2001) |
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. | Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural, mining, energy, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. Governmental control of economic affairs while still heavy has gradually lessened over the past decade with increasing privatization, simplification of the tax structure, and a prudent approach to debt. Real growth, averaging 5% for the latter half of the last decade, slowed to a 15-year low of 1.9% in 2002 because of agricultural drought, slow investment, and lackluster tourism. Better rains in 2003, however, pushed GDP growth up to an estimated 6 percent, and tourism also recovered after the end of combat operations in Iraq. GDP growth remained at 6% in 2004. Tunisia has agreed to gradually remove barriers to trade with the European Union over the next decade. Broader privatization, further liberalization of the investment code to increase foreign investment, improvements in government efficiency, and reduction of the trade deficit are among the challenges for the future. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.533 billion kWh (2000) | 9.748 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 1 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 8.1 billion kWh (2000) | 10.48 billion kWh (2001) |
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: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m
highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m |
Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and poses health risks; water pollution from raw sewage; limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986) | Tunisian dinars per US dollar - 1.2885 (2003), 1.4217 (2002), 1.4387 (2001), 1.3707 (2000), 1.1862 (1999) |
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 Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November 1987)
head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed GHANNOUCHI (since 17 November 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI reelected for a fourth term; percent of vote - Zine El Abidine BEN ALI 94.5%, Mohamed BOUCHIHA 3.8%, Mohamed Ali HALOUANI 1% |
Exports | $10.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | textiles, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, agricultural products, hydrocarbons |
Exports - partners | Japan 21%, Thailand 18%, China 16%, South Korea 12%, UAE 12%, US 3% (2001) | France 32.6%, Italy 21.9%, Germany 10.7%, Spain 4.7%, Libya 4.4% (2003) |
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 | red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $68.23 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 40% services: 57% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 13.9%
industry: 32.2% services: 53.9% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,900 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.4% (2001 est.) | 5.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 34 00 N, 9 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | strategic location in central Mediterranean; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 32,800 km
paved: 9,840 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,960 km (1996) |
total: 18,997 km
paved: 12,310 km (including 142 km of expressways) unpaved: 6,687 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 31.8% (1995) |
Imports | $5.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | textiles, machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, food |
Imports - partners | UAE 23% (largely reexports), Japan 16%, UK 13%, Italy 7%, Germany 5%, US 5% (2001) | France 26.1%, Italy 19.8%, Germany 8.9%, Spain 5.2% (2003) |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | 20 March 1956 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | -0.1% (2003 est.) |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper | petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 21.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 25.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2001 est.) | 2.7% (2003 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 | ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BSEC (observer), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 620 sq km (1998 est.) | 3,800 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 Cassation or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | 920,000 | 3.461 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
total: 1,424 km
border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.08%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 17.86%
permanent crops: 13.74% other: 68.4% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce) |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session |
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 Chamber of Deputies or Majlis al-Nuwaab (189 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RCD 152, MDS 14, PUP 11, UDU 7, Al-Tajdid 3, PSL 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.31 years
male: 70.15 years female: 74.57 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 74.66 years
male: 73 years female: 76.44 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: approaching 80% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.2% male: 84% female: 64.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 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: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 124,733 GRT/122,664 DWT
by type: bulk 2, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 1, short-sea/passenger 3 registered in other countries: 2 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Omani Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Royal Omani Police | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2,424.4 million (FY01) | $356 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 12.2% (FY01) | 1.5% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 780,292 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,918,524 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 434,026 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,655,910 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 14 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 26,470 (2002 est.) | males: 106,565 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | Independence Day, 20 March (1956) |
Nationality | noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
noun: Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian |
Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt |
Net migration rate | 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km | gas 3,059 km; oil 1,203 km; refined products 345 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Al-Tajdid Movement [Ali HALOUANI]; Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique) or RCD [President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (official ruling party)]; Liberal Social Party or PSL [Mounir BEJI]; Movement of Socialist Democrats or MDS [Ismail BOULAHYA]; Popular Unity Party or PUP [Mohamed BOUCHIHA]; Progressive Democratic Party [Nejib CHEBBI]; Unionist Democratic Union or UDU [Abderrahmane TLILI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | the Islamic fundamentalist party, Al Nahda (Renaissance), is outlawed |
Population | 2,713,462
note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2002 est.) |
9,974,722 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 7.6% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.41% (2002 est.) | 1.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut | Bizerte, Gabes, La Goulette, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, Zarzis |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 7, FM 20, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 1.4 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,152 km
standard gauge: 468 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,674 km 1.000-m gauge (65 km electrified) dual gauge: 10 km 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (three rails) (2003) |
Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
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: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 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 | 20 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: above the African average and continuing to be upgraded; key centers are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis; Internet access available
domestic: trunk facilities consist of open-wire lines, coaxial cable, and microwave radio relay international: country code - 216; 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria and Libya; participant in Medarabtel; two international gateway digital switches |
Telephones - main lines in use | 201,000 (1997) | 1,163,800 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 59,822 (1997) | 1,899,900 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | 26 (plus 76 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara |
Total fertility rate | 5.99 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 14.3% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |