Country name

conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman
conventional short form: Oman
local long form: Saltanat Uman
former: Muscat and Oman
local short form: Uman

Government type

monarchy

Capital

Muscat

Administrative divisions

6 regions (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah) and 2 governorates* (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat, Musandam*, Zufar*; note - the US Embassy in Oman reports that Masqat is a governorate, but this has not been confirmed by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN)

National holiday

Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940)

Suffrage

in Oman's most recent elections in 2000, limited to approximately 175,000 Omanis chosen by the government to vote in elections for the Majlis al-Shura

Location

Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE

Geographic coordinates

21 00 N, 57 00 E

Map references

Middle East

Area

total: 212,460 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries

total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km

Coastline

2,092 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions)

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
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m

Natural resources

petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas

Land use

arable land: 0.08%
permanent crops: 0.22%
other: 99.7% (1998 est.)

GDP

purchasing power parity - $38.09 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

1.2% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $13,100 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 41.1%
services: 55.8% (2004 est.)

Industries

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

Agriculture - products

dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish

Exports

$13.14 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities

petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles

Exports - partners

China 27.6%, South Korea 17.8%, Japan 12.7%, Thailand 11.7%, UAE 6.6% (2004)

Imports

$6.373 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities

mmachinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants

Imports - partners

UAE 17.5%, Japan 16.6%, UK 8.5%, Italy 6.4%, Germany 5.2%, US 4.7%, India 4.3% (2004)

Currency

Omani rial (OMR)

Currency code

OMR

Exchange rates

Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2004), 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (2002), 0.3845 (2001), 0.3845 (2000)

Fiscal year

calendar year