Oman
|
Formal Name: Sultanate of Oman. Short Form: Oman. Term for Citizens: Omani(s); adjectival form, Omani. Capital: Muscat. |
|
GEOGRAPHY
Topography:
Mostly desert; 15 percent land mountainous. Four major regions: Musandam
Peninsula, Al Batinah coastal plain, Climate: Hot and dry, except for Dhofar, which has light monsoons. Boundaries: Yemen and Saudi Arabia demarcated borders with Oman in 1992. |
|
SOCIETY
Education: Free public schools consist of primary level of six years, lower secondary level of three years, and upper secondary level of three years. Most teachers (60 percent) foreign. Health: Improvement and expansion of health care facilities major ongoing government priority. In 1994 infant mortality estimated at thirty-seven per 1,000. In 1994 life expectancy at birth sixty-eight years on average, with sixty-six years for males and seventy years for females. Ethnic Groups: Most Omanis are Arabs, although numerous citizens of non-Arab African origin. Foreign community includes Egyptians, Pakistanis, Indians, and others. Religion: Most Omanis are Muslims; Ibadis constitute largest group. |
|
ECONOMY Gross Domestic Product (GDP): In 1991 GDP about RO4.0 billion, orUS$10.5 billion; per capita RO2, 696, or US$7,000. Oil Industry: In 1991 accounted for about 43 percent of GDP, 95 percent of export earnings, and 82 percent of government revenues. Agriculture and Fishing: Contributed about 3.8 percent of GDP in 1991. Currency and Exchange Rate: Omani Riyal. In 1994 exchange rate US$1 = R00.3845 (fixed rate). Fiscal Year: Calendar year. |
|
TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Telecommunications: Telecommunications internationally via satellites; domestic telephone service very limited but being expanded. Televisions available throughout Oman, but radio broadcast facilities limited. |
|
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Government: Sultan Qabus ibn Said ibn Taimur Al Said as head of state and prime minister presides over Council of Ministers. Consultative Council has advisory role but no legislative powers. No constitution. Politics: No political parties. Important political actors are persons close to sultan, including Western-educated administrators and special advisers. Foreign Relations: Member of United Nations and its specialised agencies, League of Arab States, Organisation of the Islamic Conference, and Gulf Co-operation Council. June 1980 agreement allows United States use of military facilities in Oman.
The sultanate is flanked by the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, and the Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter) of Saudi Arabia, all of which contributed to Oman's isolation. Historically, the country's contacts with the rest of the world were by sea, which not only provided access to foreign lands but also linked the coastal towns of Oman. The Rub al Khali, difficult to cross even with modern desert transport, formed a barrier between the sultanate and the Arabian interior. The Al Hajar Mountains, which form a belt between the coast and the desert from the Musandam Peninsula (Ras Musandam) to the city of Sur at Oman's eastern most point, formed another barrier. These geographic barriers kept the interior of Oman free from foreign military encroachments (see fig. 13).
The northernmost area, Ruus al Jibal, extends from the Musandam Peninsula to the boundary with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Hisn al Diba. It borders the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from the rest of the sultanate by a strip of territory belonging to the UAE. This area consists of low mountains forming the Northern most extremity of the Al Hajar al Gharbi (Western Al Hajar) Mountains. Two inlets, Elphinstone (Khawr ash Shamm) and Malcom (Ghubbat al Ghazirah), cleave the coastline about one third the distance from the Strait of Hormuz and at one point are separated by only a few hundred meters of land. The coastline is extremely rugged, and the Elphinstone Inlet, sixteen kilometres long and surrounded by cliffs 1,000 to 1,250 meters high, has frequently been compared with fjords in Norway. The UAE territory separating Ruus al Jibal from the rest of Oman extends almost as far south as the coastal town of Shinas. A narrow, well-populated coastal plain known as Al Batinah runs from the point at which the sultanate is re-entered to the town of As Sib, about 140 kilometres to the south east. Across the plains, a number of wadis, heavily populated in their upper courses, descend from the Al Hajar al Gharbi Mountains to the south. A ribbon of oases, watered by wells and underground channels (falaj), extends the length of the plain, about ten kilometres inland. South of As Sib, the coast changes character. For about 175 kilometres, from As Sib to Ras al Hadd, it is barren and bounded by cliffs almost its entire length; there is no cultivation and little habitation. Although the deep water off this coast renders navigation relatively easy, there are few natural harbours or safe anchorages. The two best are at Muscat and Matrah, where natural harbours facilitated the growth of cities centuries ago. West of the coastal areas lies the tableland of central Oman. The Al Hajar Mountains form two ranges: the Al Hajar al Gharbi Mountains and the Al Hajar ash Sharqi (Eastern Al Hajar) Mountains. They are divided by the Wadi Samail (the largest wadi in the mountain zone), a valley that forms the traditional route between Muscat and the interior. The general elevation is about 1,200 meters, but the peaks of the high ridge known as Al Jabal al Akhdar (Green Mountain)--which is considered a separate area but is actually part of the Al Hajar al Gharbi Mountains--rise to more than 3,000 meters in some places. Al Jabal al Akhdar is the only home of the Arabian tahr, a unique species of wild goat. In the hope of saving this rare animal, Sultan Qabus ibn Said has declared part of Al Jabal al Akhdar a national park. Behind the Al Hajar al Gharbi Mountains are two inland regions, Az Zahirah and inner Oman, separated by the lateral range of the Rub al Khali. Adjoining the Al Hajar ash Sharqi Mountains are the sandy regions of Ash Sharqiyah and Jalan, which also border the desert. The desolate coastal tract from Jalan to Ras Naws has no specific name. Low hills and wastelands meet the sea for long distances. Midway along this coast and about fifteen kilometres offshore is the barren island of Masirah. Stretching about seventy kilometres, the island occupies a strategic location near the entry point to the Gulf of Oman from the Arabian Sea. Because of its location, it became the site of military facilities used first by the British and then by the United States, following an access agreement signed in 1980 by the United States and Oman. Dhofar region extends from Ras ash Sharbatat to the border of Yemen. Its exact northern limit has never been defined, but the territory claimed by the Sultan includes the Wadi Mughshin, about 240 kilometres inland. The south western portion of the coastal plain of Dhofar is regarded as one of the most beautiful in Arabia, and its capital, Salalah, was the permanent residence of Sultan Said ibn Taimur Al Said and the birthplace of the present sultan, Qabus ibn Said. The highest peaks are about 1,000 meters. At their base lies a narrow, pebbly desert adjoining the Rub al Khali to the north.
Climate
Precipitation
on the coasts and on the interior plains ranges from twenty to 100 millimetres
a year and falls during mid- and late winter. Rainfall in the mountains,
particularly over Al Jabal al Akhdar, is much higher and may reach 700
millimetres. Because the plateau of Al Jabal al Akhdar is porous limestone,
rainfall seeps quickly through it, and the vegetation, which might be
expected to be lusher, is meagre. However, a huge reservoir under the
plateau provides springs for low-lying areas. In addition, an enormous
wadi channels water to these valleys, making the area agriculturally
productive in years of good rainfall.
Developments in the health and medical sector paralleled those in education. In 1970 there was one twelve-bed hospital operated by United States missionaries and nine government health centres. In 1990 there was a total of forty-seven hospitals, compared with fourteen in 1980. The number of doctors increased from 294 to 994 in the same ten-year period and the number of nurses more than quadrupled from 857 to 3,512. The government's health policy is directed at achieving a level of health care that approaches its goal of Health for All by the Year 2000. Included among the health priorities of the Ministry of Health are strengthening curative services, particularly in urban areas, and improving preventive services, with the emphasis on communicable diseases and immunisation. The Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health is responsible for mass immunisations for smallpox and other infectious diseases. The government stresses delivering maternal and child health care at the village level to decrease the infant mortality rate, estimated in mid-1992 at forty-four per 1,000. Life expectancy in mid-1992 was sixty-four years for males and sixty-eight years for females. The government is also expanding its education program, especially with regard to maternal and child health care. In July 1987, the country held its first workshop on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) to increase awareness of the problem in the medical community. Contraceptives are available at private hospitals and dispensaries and through commercial outlets. Abortion is illegal except when the mother's life is endangered. Although adequate health facilities exist in urban centres, coverage in rural areas remains insufficient. As a result, the government is continuing to develop health services as an integral part of national development. The Fourth Five-Year Development Plan (1991-95) allocated RO48 million (for value of the Omani riyal--see Glossary), which is equivalent to US$124.7 million, for this purpose. Ministry of Health plans include a 100-bed hospital in Al Buraymi and a 200-bed hospital at Ar Rustaq, south east of Qurayyat, to replace the existing medical facility in Ar Rustaq and to serve as a central, referral hospital for the region. Other projects include replacing all outpatient clinics at the Royal Hospital polyclinic in the capital and building a new 200-bed hospital at Ibri and a 200-bed hospital at Tanam, in the interior north of Ibri. |
COUNTRY
Size:
About 212,000 square kilometers, although estimates vary. 
Population:
In 1992, for planning purposes, government estimated 2 million; actual
figure may be closer to 1.5 million. Growth rate 3.5 percent in 1994.
Foreigners estimated at 17.5 percent of population in 1992. 
Transportation:
In 1992 about 6,000 kilometres paved roads and 20,000 Kilometres gravel
or earthen roads. Expressway from Muscat along Gulf of Oman runs to
Dubai in United Arab Emirates. Major airport As Sib International Airport
near Muscat. Major port Mina Qabus, near Muscat, being expanded in 1994.
Oman
is located in the south eastern quarter of the Arabian Peninsula and,
according to official estimates, covers a total land area of approximately
300,000 square kilometres; foreign observer estimates, however, are
about 212,000 square kilometres, roughly the size of the state of Kansas.
The land area is composed of varying topographic features: valleys and
desert account for 82 percent of the land mass; mountain ranges, 15
percent; and the coastal plain, 3 percent. 
Natural
features divide the country into seven distinct areas: Ruus al Jibal,
including the northern Musandam Peninsula; the Al Batinah coastal plain;
the Muscat-Matrah coastal area; the Oman interior, comprising Al Jabal
al Akhdar (Green Mountain), its foothills, and desert fringes; the barren
coastline south to Dhofar; Dhofar region in the south; and the offshore
island of Masirah. 
With
the exception of Dhofar region, which has a light monsoon climate and
receives cool winds from the Indian Ocean, the climate of Oman is extremely
hot and dry most of the year. Summer begins in mid-April and lasts until
October. The highest temperatures are registered in the interior, where
readings of more than 50° C in the shade are common. On the Al Batinah
plain, summer temperatures seldom exceed 46° C, but, because of
the low elevation, the humidity may be as high as 90 percent. The mean
summer temperature in Muscat is 33° C, but the gharbi (literally,
western), a strong wind that blows from the Rub al Khali, can raise
temperatures from the towns on the Gulf of Oman by 6° C to 10°
C. Winter temperatures are mild and pleasant, ranging between 15°
C and 23° C.