Oman is the arab country in Western Asia bordering by the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Oman was a powerful empire among the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean in the late 17th century. The power of the sultanate started to decline in the 20th century, and then it came under the control of the United Kingdom. The UK secured the trade paths of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Muscat serves as an important trading port of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. From 1970, QABOOS bin Said al Said became the monarch of the country. During his rule, he introduced several new programs and well maintained the political & military relationship with the UK. Oman perfectly maintained a good relationship with Middle Eastern Countries due to its independent foreign policy. Haitham bin Tariq became the new ruler of the country, after his death on Jan 2020. In 120 AD, Azd tribes settled in Oman from southwest Arabia. Many historians believed that Yaarubah is the first settler of Oman from Yemen. Following the Azd tribes, Nirazis came to oman, who are one of the groups of Shia Muslims.
Land
The total land area is 309,500 square kilometers. It is the mostly desert region, which is so hot and dry. It surrounded by mountain ranges along the north and southeast coasts. The country shares its land border with Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen, and the maritime border with Iran and Pakistan.
Population
With the annual population growth 6.8%, Oman’s population in 2019 is 4.98 million. According to the UN Data, the population density is 16.1 people per square kilometers, the life expectancy at birth of male was 74.5 years and female are 78.7 years. The sex ratio is 194.3 males per 100 females.
Religion
Omanis are mostly Muslims, and they are the followers of ibadi faith. So Islam became the country’s central religious faith. Expatriates are the only people who belong to other religions.
Religion | Percentage |
Islam | 85.9 |
Christianity | 6.5 |
Hinduism | 5.5 |
Buddhism | 1.1 |
Other | 0.8 |
Non religious | 0.2 |
Languages
The official language of Oman was Arabic. Other than Arabic, Baluchi, Urdu, English, and some Indian languages are prominent. Baluchi was widely spoken by Baloch people who are from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.
Economy
Oman’s high-income economy is highly dependent on oil exports. Oman’s petroleum reserve is the 25th largest in the world and first in the Middle East country. The tourism and agricultural sectors are the other revenue-generating resources of the country. In the 2018 estimate, the GDP (nominal) is $76.609 billion, and GDP (PPP) is $203.959 billion. The HDI value was 0.834 in 2018.
Oman Country Code : OM
Oman Country Dialing Code: +968