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from TripAdvisorOman
| Sultanate of Oman National
name: Saltanat Uman Sultan:
Qabus ibn Sa'id (1970)
Current government officials
Total area: 82,031 sq mi (212,460 sq
km)1 Population
(2007 est.): 3,204,897 (growth rate: 3.2%); birth rate: 35.8/1000;
infant mortality rate: 18.3/1000; life expectancy: 73.6; density per
sq mi: 39
Capital (2003 est.):
Muscat, 797,000 (metro. area), 54,800 (city
proper) Monetary unit: Omani
rial
Languages:
Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu,
Indian dialects
Ethnicity/race:
Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani,
Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African
Religions:
Islam: Ibadhi 75%, Sunni, Shi'a; Hindu Literacy rate: 81.4% (2003 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.):
$61.61 billion; per capita $24,000. Real growth rate: 6.4%.
Inflation: 5.5%. Unemployment: 15% (2004 est.).
Arable land: 0.2%. Agriculture: dates, limes, bananas,
alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish. Labor force: 920,000
(2002 est.); agriculture n.a., industry n.a., services n.a.
Industries: crude oil production and refining, natural and
liquefied natural gas (LNG) production; construction, cement, copper,
steel, chemicals, optic fiber. Natural resources: petroleum,
copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural
gas. Exports: $19.01 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): petroleum,
reexports, fish, metals, textiles. Imports: $8.709 billion
f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and transport equipment, manufactured
goods, food, livestock, lubricants. Major trading partners:
China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, UAE, UK, Italy, Germany, U.S.
(2004). Communications: Telephones:
main lines in use: 201,000 (1997); mobile cellular: 59,822 (1997).
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999).
Radios: 1.4 million (1997). Television broadcast
stations: 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999).
Televisions: 1.6 million (1997). Internet Service Providers
(ISPs): 1 (2000). Internet users: 120,000 (2002). Transportation: Railways: 0 km.
Highways: total: 34,965 km; paved: 9,673 km (including 550 km
of expressways); unpaved: 25,292 km (2001). Ports and harbors:
Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut. Airports: 139
(2002). International disputes:
boundary agreement signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire
border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah
enclaves. 1. Excluding the Kuria
Muria Islands.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Oman is a 1,000-mile-long (1,700-km) coastal plain at the southeast tip
of the Arabian Peninsula lying on the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. It
is bordered by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The
country is the size of Kansas.
Government
Absolute monarchy.
History
Arabs migrated to Oman from the 9th century B.C. onward, and conversion to Islam occurred in the
7th century A.D. Muscat, the capital of the
geographical area known as Oman, was occupied by the Portuguese from 1508
to 1648. Then it fell to Ottoman Turks, but in 1741 Ahmad ibn Sa'id forced
them out. The descendants of Sultan Ahmad rule Oman today.
Ahmad expanded his empire to East Africa, and for a time the Omani
capital was in Zanzibar. After 1861, however, Zanzibar fell from Omani
control.
The sultans and imams of Oman clashed continuously throughout the 20th
century until 1959, when the last Ibadi imam was evicted from the country.
In a palace coup on July 23, 1970, the sultan, Sa'id bin Taimur, who had
ruled since 1932, was overthrown by his son, Qabus ibn Sa'id, who promised
to establish a modern government and use newfound oil wealth to aid the
people of this very isolated state. Oman joined the Arab League and the
United Nations in 1971.
A long border dispute with Yemen was resolved in Oct. 1992; in 1997,
the countries agreed to new maps defining the border.
In 1997, Sultan Qabus granted women the right to be elected to the
country's consultative body, the Shura Council (Majlis al-Shura). In 2003,
the sultan extended voting rights to everyone over 21; previously, voters
were selected from among the elite, and only about a quarter of the
population was allowed to vote.
In 2006, Oman and the U.S. signed a free-trade deal.
See also Encyclopedia: Oman.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Oman
Ministry of National Economy
http://www.moneoman.gov.om/
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.
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