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 Britain. Oman's moderate independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries.

Land boundaries: 1,374 km total; Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, PDRY 288 km

Coastline: 2,092 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: to be defined
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south

Terrain: vast central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south

Natural resources: crude oil, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas

Land use: NEGL% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 5% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 95% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Geography
Note: strategic location with small foothold on Musandam Peninsula controlling Strait of Hormuz (17% of world's oil production transits this point going from Persian Gulf to Arabian Sea)

Population: 1,457,064 (July 1990), growth rate 3.1% (1990)

Nationality: noun--Omani(s; adjective--Omani

Ethnic groups: almost entirely Arab, with small Balochi, Zanzibari, and Indian groups

Languages: Arabic (official; English, Balochi, Urdu, Indian dialects

Religions: 75% Ibadhi Muslim; remainder Sunni Muslim, Shia Muslim, some Hindu

Birth rate: 43 births/1000 population (1990)

Death rate: 12 deaths/1000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1000 population (1990)

Environment
Current issues: summer winds often raise large sandstorms and duststorms in interior; sparse natural freshwater resources

Infant mortality rate: 105 deaths/1000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 56 years male, 58 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.8 children born/woman (1990)

Literacy: 20%

Country name: conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman

Government type: absolute monarchy; independent, with residual UK influence

Capital: Muscat

Administrative divisions: none

Independence: 1650, expulsion of the Portuguese

National holiday: National Day, 18 November

Constitution: none

Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the sultan; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: none

Executive branch: Chief of State and Head of Government--Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970)

Legislative branch: Army, Navy, Air Force, Royal Oman Police

Judicial branch: none; traditional Islamic judges and a nascent civil court system

International organization participation: Arab League, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Awadh Bader AL-SHANFARI; Chancery at 2,342 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 387-1980 through 1982; US--Ambassador Richard BOEHM; Embassy at address NA, Muscat (mailing address is P. O. Box 966, Muscat; telephone 738-231 or 738-006

Flag description: three horizontal bands of white (top, double width), red, and green (double 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 at the top of the vertical band

Economy overview: Economic performance is closely tied to the fortunes of the oil industry. Petroleum accounts for nearly all export earnings, about 70% of government revenues, and more than 50% of GDP. Oman has proved oil reserves of 4 billion barrels, equivalent to about 20 years' supply at the current rate of extraction. Although agriculture employs a majority of the population, urban centers depend on imported food.

Agriculture products: accounts for 3.4% of GDP and 60% of the labor force (including fishing; less than 2% of land cultivated; largely subsistence farming (dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables, camels, cattle; not self-sufficient in food; annual fish catch averages 100,000 metric tons

Industries: crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper

Industrial production growth rate: 5.0% (1986)

Labor force: 430,000; 60% agriculture (est.), 58% are non-Omani

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $3.1 billion; expenditures $4.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.0 billion (1989 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $3.6 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.)
Commodities: petroleum, reexports, processed copper, dates, nuts, fish
Partners: Japan, South Korea, Thailand

Imports: $1.9 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.), commodities --machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants
Partners: Japan, UAE, UK, FRG, US

Debt external: $3.1 billion (December 1989 est.)

Exchange rates: Omani rials (RO) per US$1--0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986)

Electricity
Capacity: 1,130,000 kW capacity; 3,600 million kWh produced, 2,760 kWh per capita (1989)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 16.5% of GDP, or $1.3 billion (1990 est.)

Airports: 128 total, 119 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 63 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Pipelines: crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km

Disputes international: Administrative Line with PDRY; no defined boundary with most of UAE, Administrative Line in far north