Oman (2005) | French Guiana (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 5 regions (manaatiq, singular - mintaqat) and 3 governorates* (muhaafazaat, singular - muhaafaza) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat*, Musandam*, Zufar* | none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.6% (male 652,028/female 626,698)
15-64 years: 54.9% (male 978,183/female 668,814) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 41,366/female 34,494) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.3% (male 29,262/female 27,947)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 67,895/female 58,534) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 6,038/female 5,830) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 136 (2004 est.) | 11 (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 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 130
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 52 914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 35 (2004 est.) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly smaller than Indiana |
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. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
Birth rate | 36.73 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $9.291 billion
expenditures: $8.747 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
Capital | Muscat | Cayenne |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 378 km |
Constitution | none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a basic law considered by the government to be a constitution 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 Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
Death rate | 3.86 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.814 billion (2004 est.) | $1.2 billion (1988) |
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: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Al-Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 24-698989 FAX: [968] 24-699771 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Muhammad bin Ali bin Thani al-KHUSSAIBY
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 | boundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah exclave, but details have not been made public | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana |
Economic aid - recipient | $76.4 million (1995) | NA |
Economy - overview | Oman is a middle-income economy in the Middle East with notable oil and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus, and low inflation. The government is privatizing its utilities and diversifying its economy to attract foreign investment. Oman continues to liberalize its markets and joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in November 2000. To reduce unemployment and limit dependence on foreign countries, the government is encouraging the replacement of expatriate workers with local people, i.e., Omanization. Training in information technology, business management, and English support this objective. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources, metal manufacturing, petrochemicals, and international transshipment ports. | The economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
Electricity - consumption | 9.792 billion kWh (2003) | 427.9 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 9.896 billion kWh (2003) | 460.1 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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 | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2004), 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (2002), 0.3845 (2001), 0.3845 (2000) | 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 Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) 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 Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
Exports | 721,000 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
Exports - partners | China 29.5%, South Korea 17.5%, Japan 11.5%, Thailand 10.6%, UAE 7.2% (2004) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) |
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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 41.1% services: 55.8% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $13,100 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.2% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 4 00 N, 53 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 34,965 km
paved: 9,673 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 25,292 km (2001) |
total: 817 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
Imports | NA | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
Imports - partners | UAE 21.2%, Japan 16.6%, UK 8.4%, Italy 6%, Germany 5.1%, US 4.7% (2004) | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.) |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | -1.2% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals, optic fiber | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 19.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.2% (2004 est.) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Irrigated land | 620 sq km (1998 est.) | 20 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Sharia (Islamic) law |
Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
Labor force | 920,000 (2002 est.) | 58,800 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA | agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.12%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 99.74% (2001) |
arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | French |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French legal system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Majlis Oman consists of an upper chamber or Majlis al-Dawla (58 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and a lower chamber or Majlis al-Shura (83 seats; members elected by universal suffrage for four-year term; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers)
elections: last held 4 October 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: NA |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.13 years
male: 70.92 years female: 75.46 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 77.09 years
male: 73.77 years female: 80.58 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 75.8% male: 83.1% female: 67.2% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 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 Brazil and Suriname |
Map references | Middle East | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 15,430 GRT/6,360 DWT
by type: passenger 1 (2005) |
registered in other countries: 3 |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Royal Omani Armed Forces: Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman (2005) | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $252.99 million (2004) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 11.4% (2003) | NA |
National holiday | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay |
Net migration rate | 0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,754 km; oil 3,212 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 3,001,583
note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2005 est.) |
195,506 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.32% (2005 est.) | 2.1% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mina' Qabus, Salalah | Degrad des Cannes |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.46 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.2 male(s)/female total population: 1.26 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | in Oman's most recent Majlis al-Shura elections in 2003, suffrage was universal for all Omanis over age 21 except for members of the military and security forces; the next Majlis al-Shura elections are scheduled for 2007 | 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: country code - 968; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 233,900 (2002) | 51,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 464,900 (2002) | 138,200 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.84 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2004 est.) | 22% (2001) |
Waterways | - | 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) |