Home/Countries/Oman

Arabian Peninsula

Oman

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

Muslim population85.9%of the population

Population5.4 millionpeople (current)

CapitalMuscatUTC+4

Currency0.38 = $1Omani rials (OMR) (2024)

Country basics

Oman is a sultanate on the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, on the Arabian Sea.

Oman is an absolute monarchy with Muscat as its capital and Arabic as its official language, and it holds the southern side of the Strait of Hormuz. The rial is the currency, and crude oil, gas and refining lead export earnings.

Official name

Sultanate of Oman

Region

Asia · Western Asia

Government

Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+04:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+968

Currency

Omani rial (OMR, ر.ع.)

Member of

Arab League; UN

Website

https://www.oman.om

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim 85.9%, Christian 6.4%, Hindu 5.7%, other and unaffiliated 2% (2020 est.)

Languages

Arabic

People and cities

Population

5.4 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

27.5 years (2025)

Living in cities

88.4% (2023)

Largest cities

Muscat (capital) 1.650 million

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

0.38 Omani rials (OMR) per US dollar (2024)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$36,700 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

1% (2023)

Unemployment

3.2% (2024)

Spent on foodShare of an average household’s spending

18.7% (2023)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

77.4 years (2024)

Doctors

1.99 per 1,000 people (2022)

Hospital beds

1.2 per 1,000 people (2020)

Safe drinking water

92.4% of people (2022)

Electricity

100% of people (2022)

Internet users

95% of people (2024)

Literacy

97.3% of adults (2022)

Land and climate

Climate

Dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south

SizeTwice the size of Georgia

309,500 sq km

Natural hazards

Summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts

National holiday

National Day, 18 November