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World > Countries > Oman

Oman

Facts & Figures

Map of Oman

Sultan: Qabus ibn Sa'id (1970)

Total area: 82,031 sq mi (212,460 sq km)¹

Population (2010 est.): 2,967,717 (growth rate: 1.9%); birth rate: 23.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 16.8/1000; life expectancy: 74.1; density per sq mi: 15

Capital (2003 est.): Muscat, 797,000 (metro. area), 54,800 (city proper)

Monetary unit: Omani rial

More Facts & Figures

Index

Oman Main Page
Political Unrest in the Middle East Spreads to Oman

Geography

Oman is a 1,000-mile-long (1,700 km) coastal plain at the southeast tip of the Arabian Peninsula lying on the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The country is the size of Kansas.

Government

Absolute monarchy.

History

Arabs migrated to Oman from the 9th century BC onward, and conversion to Islam occurred in the 7th century AD Muscat, the capital of the geographical area known as Oman, was occupied by the Portuguese from 1508 to 1648. Then it fell to Ottoman Turks, but in 1741, Ahmad ibn Sa'id forced them out, and the descendants of Sultan Ahmad rule Oman today.

Ahmad expanded his empire to East Africa, and for a time the Omani capital was in Zanzibar. After 1861, however, Zanzibar fell from Omani control.

The sultans and imams of Oman clashed continuously throughout the 20th century until 1959, when the last Ibadi imam was evicted from the country. In a palace coup on July 23, 1970, the sultan, Sa'id bin Taimur, who had ruled since 1932, was overthrown by his son, Qabus ibn Sa'id, who promised to establish a modern government and use newfound oil wealth to aid the people of this very isolated state. Oman joined the Arab League and the United Nations in 1971.

A long border dispute with Yemen was resolved in Oct. 1992; in 1997, the countries agreed to new maps defining the border.

In 1997, Sultan Qabus granted women the right to be elected to the country's consultative body, the Shura Council (Majlis al-Shura). In 2003, the sultan extended voting rights to everyone over 21; previously, voters were selected from among the elite, and only about a quarter of the population was allowed to vote.