Oman » Key Facts
Location
Middle East, southeastern tip of Arabian Peninsula.
Area
309,500 sq km (119,499 sq miles).
Population
2,694,000 (2010).
Population Density
8.7 per sq km.
Capital
Muscat
Government
Sultanate since 1744.
Geography
The Sultanate of Oman occupies the southeastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula and a total area of 309,500 sq km (119,500 sq miles or roughly the same size as Italy) including the coastal islands of Masirah, Halanyat and Salama, plus Musandam and Madha, which are completely surrounded by the United Arab Emirates.
It is bordered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the northwest, the Republic of Yemen to the southwest and the United Arab Emirates to the north. Oman has 2,092 km (1,300 miles) of coastline on the Gulf, Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The interior is covered by a vast expanse of desert with around 82% of the landmass occupied by deserts and valleys. The Hajjar mountain range, which occupies around 15% of the country’s landmass, forms an arc extending from the northwest of the country to the southeast. The highest mountain is Jabal Shams, at around 2,980m (9,777ft).
Language
Arabic is the official language. English is widely spoken. Swahili is also spoken by Omani descendents from East Africa. German and French are spoken by some hotel staff while Urdu, Farsi, Hindi and Tagalog are widely spoken by Oman's large expatriate workforce.
Religion
Predominantly Muslim, including Shi'ite Muslim, Sunni Muslim and the Ibadi strand of Islam, the latter practised by 60% of the population (the only country in the world to do so). There are facilities for the worship of other religions. Around 13% of the population are Hindu.
Time
GMT + 4.
Social Conventions
Shaking hands is the usual form of greeting. A small gift, either promoting your company or country, is well received. Dignity and respect are key in Omani culture and public criticisms are rare. As far as dress is concerned, it is important that women dress modestly beyond the hotel grounds, ie long skirts or dresses (below the knee) with covered shoulders; men should wear trousers and shirts with sleeves. Tight-fitting clothes should be restricted to hotel restaurants to avoid giving offence, although this is not strictly followed by some Westerners. Shorts should not be worn in public and beachwear is prohibited anywhere except the beach. Collecting seashells, abalone, corals, crayfish and turtle eggs is also prohibited. Dumping litter is forbidden. It is polite not to smoke in public, but generally no-smoking signs are posted where appropriate; smoking is banned in public places in Muscat. Homosexual behaviour is illegal.
Photography: Visitors should ask permission before attempting to photograph people or their property. 'No Photography' signs exist in certain places and must be observed.
Electricity
220/240 volts AC, 50Hz.
Head of Government
Sultan Qaboos bin Said since 1970.
Head of State
Sultan Qaboos bin Said since 1970.
Recent History
The current Sultan and his partially publicly elected government have been responsible for overseeing the country’s dramatic modernisation programme. When he came to power in 1970, Sultan Qaboos inherited a country that boasted only 10km of sealed road, two American-run missionary hospitals and no secondary schools. Today, good roads link nearly every town in the country, every region has modern healthcare facilities, and all Omani citizens are given free primary and secondary education. Oman has gained an international reputation for being a peaceful, settled nation, loyal to Arab neighbours whilst maintaining close, friendly ties with Western countries, particularly the UK.
Disclaimer:
Content in the country guide is updated every 3 months and is to the best
of our knowledge accurate and up-to-date. The information contained is
intended as a general guide - any opinions or travel advise expressed are
not necessarily those of AME Info FZ LLC.
The information is provided in association with Columbus Travel Publishing
Limited and my not be republished or reproduced in anyway without the prior
written consent by the publisher.
All information made available from within this product is provided without
warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited
to, any warranties as to merchantability, non-infringement or fitness for a
particular purpose. We accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or
inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from this information.
AME Info FZ LLC or Columbus Travel Publishing Limited shall not be liable
for any technical, editorial or typographical or other errors or omissions
within the information accessible through this product.
Whilst changes are periodically made to the information herein AMEinfo.com FZ
LLC or Columbus Publishing Limited does not warrant that information
currently accessible is either up-to-date or accurate.
All product names mentioned herein are subject to the trademarks and/or
trademark rights of their respective owners.
3D Animated Flags used in this section is courtesy of www.3DFlags.com
Please contact us if you have any questions or
corrections to the content in this section.
Information in this section was last updated: Wed May 23 2012
