Background: 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.

Geographic coordinates: 21 00 N 57 00 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 212,460 km²
Land: 212,460 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries
Total: 1,374 km
Border countries: (3) Saudi Arabia 676 km; , UAE 410 km; , Yemen 288 km

Coastline: 2,092 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

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

Terrain: central desert plain rugged mountains in north and south

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m

Natural resources: petroleum copper asbestos some marble limestone chromium gypsum natural gas

Land use
Arable land: 0.12%
Permanent crops: 0.14%
Other: 99.74% (2005)

Irrigated land: 720 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 1 km³ (1997)

Natural hazards: summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts

Geography
Note: strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz a vital transit point for world crude oil

Population
Note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: 3.19% (2008 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Omani
Adjective: Omani

Ethnic groups: Arab Baluchi South Asian (Indian Pakistani Sri Lankan Bangladeshi) African

Languages: Arabic (official) English Baluchi Urdu Indian dialects

Religions: Ibadhi Muslim 75% other (includes Sunni Muslim Shi'a Muslim Hindu) 25%

Age structure
0-14 years: 42.7% (male 721,796/female 692,699)
15-64 years: 54.5% (male 1,053,040/female 752,962)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 51,290/female 39,853) (2008 est.)

Median age
Total: 18.9 years
Male: 21.3 years
Female: 16.6 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.19% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 35.26 births/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 3.68 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.33 migrant(s)/1000 population (2008 est.)

Environment
Current issues: rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; limited natural fresh water resources
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 1.4 male/female
65 years and over: 1.29 male/female
Total population: 1.23 male/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 17.45 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 19.95 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 14.83 deaths/1000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.91 years
Male: 71.64 years
Female: 76.29 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.62 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 1300 (2001 est.)
Deaths: fewer than 200 (2003 est.)

Education expenditures: 4% of GDP (2006)

Literacy
Definition: NA
Total population: 81.4%
Male: 86.8%
Female: 73.5% (2003 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 12 years
Male: 12 years
Female: 11 years (2006)

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

Government type: monarchy

Capital
Name: Muscat
Geographic coordinates: 23 37 N, 58 35 E
Time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 5 regions (manatiq singular - mintaqat) and 4 governorates* (muhafazat singular - muhafazat) Ad Dakhiliyah Al Batinah Al Buraymi* Al Wusta Ash Sharqiyah Az Zahirah Masqat (Muscat)* Musandam* Zufar (Dhofar)*

Independence: 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese)

National holiday: Birthday of Sultan QABOOS 18 November (1940)

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

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

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal; note - members of the military and security forces are not allowed to vote

Executive branch
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: the monarch is hereditary

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 27 October 2007 (next to be held in 2011)
Election results: new candidates won 46 seats and 38 members of the outgoing Majlis kept their positions; none of the 20 female candidates were elected

Judicial branch
Note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Sharia law

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: ABEDA AFESD AMF FAO G-77 GCC IBRD ICAO ICCt (signatory) IDA IDB IFAD IFC IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IPU ISO ITSO ITU LAS MIGA NAM OIC OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Hunaina bint Sultan bin Ahmad al-MUGHAIRI
In the us chancery: 2,535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980
In the us fax: [1] (202) 745-4,933
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Gary A. GRAPPO
From the us embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Sultan Qaboos, Muscat
From the us telephone: [968] 24-643-400
From the us fax: [968] 24-699,771

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

Economy overview: Oman is a middle-income economy that is heavily dependent on dwindling oil resources but 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. As a result of its dwindling oil resources Oman is actively pursuing a development plan that focuses on diversification industrialization and privatization with the objective of reducing the oil sector's contribution to GDP to 9 percent by 2020. Muscat is attempting to 'Omanize' the labor force by replacing 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $60.89 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 5.6% (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $19,000 (2007 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.2%
Industry: 38.2%
Services: 59.6% (2007 est.)

Agriculture products: dates limes bananas alfalfa vegetables; camels cattle; fish

Industries: crude oil production and refining natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production; construction cement copper steel chemicals optic fiber

Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (2007 est.)

Labor force: 920,000 (2002 est.)
By occupation agriculture: NA%
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%

Unemployment rate: 15% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $14.02 billion
Expenditures: $13.68 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 3.7% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate consumer prices: 5.9% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate: 1.98% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 7.29% (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit: $13.88 billion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $16.16 billion (2006)

Current account balance: $4.866 billion (2007 est.)

Exports: $23.1 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: petroleum reexports fish metals textiles
Partners: China 26.8% South Korea 15.2% Japan 14.3% Thailand 10.4% UAE 7.6% US 4.3% Iran 4.1% (2007)

Imports: $11 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment manufactured goods food livestock lubricants
Partners: UAE 19.3% Japan 17.6% US 7.4% Germany 5.2% India 4.1% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $9.524 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt external: $5.297 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $NA

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $NA

Exchange rates: Omani rials (OMR) per US dollar - 0.3845 (2007) 0.3845 (2006) 0.3845 (2005) 0.3845 (2004) 0.3845 (2003)

Electricity
Production: 13.58 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption: 10.53 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 24.1 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Consumption: 11 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Exports: 13.1 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 849.5 billion m³ (1 January 2008 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 268,100 (2007)
Mobile cellular: 2.5 million (2007)

Telephone system
General assessment: modern system consisting of open-wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable
Domestic: fixed-line phone service gradually being introduced to remote villages using wireless local loop systems; fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership both increasing; open-wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations
International: country code - 968; the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat (2007)

Internet
Country code: .om
Hosts: 4,785 (2008)
Users: 340,000 (2007)

Military expenditures: 11.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)

Airports: 137 (2007)
With paved runways total: 7
With paved runways over 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 130
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 8
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 51
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 35
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 34 (2007)

Heliports: 2 (2007)

Pipelines: gas 4,126 km; oil 3,558 km (2007)

Roadways
Total: 42,300 km
Paved: 16,500 km (includes 550 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 25,800 km (2005)

Merchant marine
Total: 3
By type: chemical tanker 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1
Registered in other countries: 2 (Panama 2) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Mina' Qabus Salalah

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 of the alignment have not been made public