Reunion (2002) | Oman (2007) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 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 | 5 regions (manatiq, singular - mintaqat) and 4 governorates* (muhafazat, singular - muhafazat) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Buraymi*, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat*, Musandam*, Zufar (Dhofar)* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.7% (male 120,864; female 115,251)
15-64 years: 62.5% (male 228,864; female 235,991) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 17,459; female 25,552) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.7% (male 698,461/female 670,793)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,026,686/female 723,712) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 47,534/female 37,711) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 137 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 130
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 35 under 914 m: 34 (2007) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | 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. | The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, a newly established sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, but it never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said al-Said overthrew the restrictive rule of his father; he has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. |
Birth rate | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 35.76 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $13.07 billion
expenditures: $11.62 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Saint-Denis | name: Muscat
geographic coordinates: 23 37 N, 58 35 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south |
Coastline | 207 km | 2,092 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French 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 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman
conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman former: Muscat and Oman |
Currency | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) | - |
Death rate | 5.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $3.465 billion (2006 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Gary A. GRAPPO
embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 24-643-400 FAX: [968] 24-699771 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Hunaina bint Sultan bin Ahmad al-MUGHAIRI
chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933 |
Disputes - international | none | boundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah exclave, but details of the alignment have not been made public |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France | $30.68 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. 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 more than 40% 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. | Oman is a middle-income economy in the Middle East with notable oil and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus, and low inflation. Sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped build Oman's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. Oman joined the World Trade Organization in November 2000 and continues to liberalize its markets. It ratified a free trade agreement with the US in September 2006 and, through the Gulf Cooperation Council, seeks similar agreements with the EU, China and Japan. To reduce unemployment and limit dependence on foreign labor, the government is encouraging the replacement of foreign expatriate workers with local workers. Oman actively seeks private foreign investors, especially in the industrial, information technology, tourism, and higher education fields. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources, metal manufacturing, petrochemicals, and international transshipment ports. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.014 billion kWh (2000) | 8.661 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 1.09 billion kWh (2000) | 11.89 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 55%
hydro: 45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources |
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 | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2006), 0.3845 (2005), 0.3845 (2004), 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
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 |
chief of state: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972); 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 (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
Exports | $214 million f.o.b. (1997) | 733,100 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (1994) | China 23.6%, South Korea 17.9%, Japan 10.9%, Thailand 10.7%, South Africa 7.7%, UAE 6.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.4 billion (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 39.1% services: 58.6% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (1998 est.) | 6.6% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 21 00 N, 57 00 E |
Geography - note | 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 | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil |
Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
Highways | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km note: 370 km of road are maintained by national authorities, 754 km by departmental authorities and 1,600 km by local authorities (1994) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $2.5 billion c.i.f. (1997) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (1994) | UAE 22.4%, Japan 16.5%, US 8.1%, Germany 5.4%, India 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5.9% (2006 est.) |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production; construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals, optic fiber |
Infant mortality rate | 8.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 18.28 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 3.2% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, InOC, WFTU | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 720 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Shari'a law |
Labor force | 261,000 (1995) (1995) | 920,000 (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (1990) (1990) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.12%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 99.74% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects |
Legal system | French law | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 2004); 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 - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 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 |
bicameral Majlis Oman consists of Majlis al-Dawla (or upper chamber) (58 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and Majlis al-Shura (or lower chamber)(84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers)
elections: last held 4 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2007) election results: NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.18 years
male: 69.78 years female: 76.74 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 73.62 years
male: 71.37 years female: 75.99 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79% male: 76% female: 80% (1982 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 81.4% male: 86.8% female: 73.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE |
Map references | World | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,155 GRT/7,244 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1, passenger 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) | Royal Omani Armed Forces: Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Sultanat Oman, RAFO) (2006) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 11.4% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 194,485 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 99,251 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,243 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) |
Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 4,072 km; oil 3,405 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 743,981 (July 2002 est.) | 3,204,897
note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.52% (2002 est.) | 3.234% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Le Port, Pointe des Galets | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | 173,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, other (includes Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu) 25% |
Sex ratio | 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 (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.419 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.26 male(s)/female total population: 1.238 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal; note - members of the military and security forces are not allowed to vote |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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), 1 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 268,500 (1999) | 278,300 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 197,000 (September 2000) | 1.818 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 13 (plus 25 repeaters) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south |
Total fertility rate | 2.55 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.7 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 42.8% (1998) (1998) | 15% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |