Oman (2005) | Jordan (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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* | 12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba |
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:
37.23% (male 980,345; female 938,081) 15-64 years: 59.44% (male 1,633,579; female 1,429,631) 65 years and over: 3.33% (male 84,815; female 86,927) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry |
Airports | 136 (2004 est.) | 18 (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 (2004 est.) |
total:
15 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 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:
3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
92,300 sq km land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 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. | For most of its history since independence from British administration in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King HUSSEIN (1953-1999). A pragmatic ruler, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, through several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he resumed parliamentary elections and gradually permitted political liberalization; in 1994 a formal peace treaty was signed with Israel. King ABDALLAH II - the eldest son of King HUSSEIN and Princess MUNA - assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and established his domestic priorities. |
Birth rate | 36.73 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 25.44 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $9.291 billion
expenditures: $8.747 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$2.8 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Muscat | Amman |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 26 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 | 8 January 1952 |
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:
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan conventional short form: Jordan local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah local short form: Al Urdun former: Transjordan |
Currency | - | Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Death rate | 3.86 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 2.62 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.814 billion (2004 est.) | $8 billion (2000 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: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Al-Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 24-698989 FAX: [968] 24-699771 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador William J. BURNS embassy: Abdoum, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 5920101 FAX: [962] (6) 5920121 |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Marwan Jamil MUASHER chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664 FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110 |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $76.4 million (1995) | ODA, $850 million (1996 est.) |
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. | Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. The Persian Gulf crisis, which began in August 1990, aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the government to stop most debt payments and suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker remittances, and trade revenues contracted. Refugees flooded the country, producing serious balance-of-payments problems, stunting GDP growth, and straining government resources. The economy rebounded in 1992, largely due to the influx of capital repatriated by workers returning from the Gulf. After averaging 9% in 1992-95, GDP growth averaged only 1.5% during 1996-99. In an attempt to spur growth, King ABDALLAH has undertaken limited economic reform, including partial privatization of some state-owned enterprises and Jordan's entry in January 2000 into the World Trade Organization (WTrO). Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental ongoing economic problems. |
Electricity - consumption | 9.792 billion kWh (2003) | 6.594 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 407 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 9.896 billion kWh (2003) | 6.657 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
99.79% hydro: 0.21% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m |
Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2004), 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (2002), 0.3845 (2001), 0.3845 (2000) | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.7090 (1996-present )
note: since May 1989, the Jordanian dinar has been pegged to a group of currencies |
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:
King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Crown Prince HAMZAH (half brother of the monarch, born 29 March 1980) head of government: Prime Minister Ali Abul RAGHEB (since 19 June 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | 721,000 bbl/day (2004) | $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures |
Exports - partners | China 29.5%, South Korea 17.5%, Japan 11.5%, Thailand 10.6%, UAE 7.2% (2004) | India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE, Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Ethiopia |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of black (top, the Abbassid Caliphate of Islam), white (the Ummayyad Caliphate of Islam), and green (the Fatimid Caliphate of Islam) with a red isosceles triangle (representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916) based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 41.1% services: 55.8% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
3% industry: 25% services: 72% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $13,100 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.2% (2004 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 31 00 N, 36 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | - |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 34,965 km
paved: 9,673 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 25,292 km (2001) |
total:
8,000 km paved: 8,000 km unpaved: 0 km (2000 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
2.4% highest 10%: 34.7% (1991) |
Imports | NA | $4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | UAE 21.2%, Japan 16.6%, UK 8.4%, Italy 6%, Germany 5.1%, US 4.7% (2004) | Iraq, Germany, US, Japan, UK, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia, Syria, China |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | -1.2% (2004 est.) | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals, optic fiber | phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, tourism |
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.) |
20.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.2% (2004 est.) | 0.7% (2000 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 | ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 620 sq km (1998 est.) | 630 sq km (1993 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 Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) |
Labor force | 920,000 (2002 est.) | 1.15 million
note: in addition, at least 300,000 workers are employed abroad (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA | industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52% (1992) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
total:
1,619 km border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.12%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 99.74% (2001) |
arable land:
4% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 1% other: 85% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate (a 40-member body appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (80 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 4 November 1997 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - National Constitutional Party 2, Arab Land Party 1, independents 75, other 2 note: the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the monarch several times since 1974; in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.13 years
male: 70.92 years female: 75.46 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
77.53 years male: 75.1 years female: 80.12 years (2001 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: 86.6% male: 93.4% female: 79.4% (1995 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea:
3 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 15,430 GRT/6,360 DWT
by type: passenger 1 (2005) |
total:
6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 40,919 GRT/57,777 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, container 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Omani Armed Forces: Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman (2005) | Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF; includes Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Naval Force, and Royal Jordanian Air Force); Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Force (falls under JAF only in wartime or crisis situations) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $252.99 million (2004) | $608.9 million (FY98/99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 11.4% (2003) | 7.8% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,458,571 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,034,109 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
57,131 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
noun:
Jordanian(s) adjective: Jordanian |
Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | phosphates, potash, shale oil |
Net migration rate | 0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 7.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,754 km; oil 3,212 km (2004) | crude oil 209 km; note - may not be in use |
Political parties and leaders | none | Al-Umma (Nation) Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH, secretary general]; Arab Land Party [Dr. Muhammad al-'ORAN, secretary general]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'eed THIYAB, secretary general]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Council of Professional Association Presidents [Ahmad al-QADIRI, chairman]; Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF, president]; Muslim Brotherhood [Abd-al-Majid DHUNAYBAT, secretary general] |
Population | 3,001,583
note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2005 est.) |
5,153,378 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 30% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.32% (2005 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mina' Qabus, Salalah | Al 'Aqabah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.66 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
677 km narrow gauge: 677 km 1.050-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2000 est.) |
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:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 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 | 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: country code - 968; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat |
general assessment:
service has improved recently with the increased use of digital switching equipment, but better access to the telephone system is needed in the rural areas and easier access to pay telephones is needed by the urban public domestic: microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; considerable use is made of mobile cellular systems; Internet service is available international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals; fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria; connection to international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); participant in MEDARABTEL; international links total about 4,000 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 233,900 (2002) | 403,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 464,900 (2002) | 11,500 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River |
Total fertility rate | 5.84 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.29 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2004 est.) | 15% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |