]! ^! In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al Said ousted his father and has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a long-standing political and military relationship with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. 
]" ^" Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE ^# 21 00 N, 57 00 E ^$ Middle East ^% `! 212,460 sq km `" 212,460 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Kansas ^' `! 1,374 km `U Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km ^( 2,092 km ^) `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `I 200 nm ^* dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south ^+ central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south ^, `% Arabian Sea 0 m `& Jabal Shams 2,980 m ^- petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas ^. `' 0.12% `( 0.14% `) 99.74% (2001) ^/ 620 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts ^1 rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling `L none of the selected agreements ^2 strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil 
]# ^3 3,001,583 note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 42.6% (male 652,028/female 626,698) `+ 54.9% (male 978,183/female 668,814) `, 2.5% (male 41,366/female 34,494) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 19.13 years `- 21.88 years `. 16.45 years (2005 est.) ^6 3.32% (2005 est.) ^7 36.73 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 3.86 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.04 male(s)/female `+ 1.46 male(s)/female `, 1.2 male(s)/female `1 1.26 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 19.51 deaths/1,000 live births `- 22.35 deaths/1,000 live births `. 16.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 73.13 years `- 70.92 years `. 75.46 years (2005 est.) ^= 5.84 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 0.1% (2001 est.) ^? 1,300 (2001 est.) ^@ less than 200 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Omani(s) `3 Omani ^B Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African ^C Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu ^D Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects ^E `M NA `1 75.8% `- 83.1% `. 67.2% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Sultanate of Oman `5 Oman `V Saltanat Uman `W Uman `X Muscat and Oman ^H monarchy ^I Muscat ^J 5 regions (manaatiq, singular - mintaqat) and 3 governorates* (muhaafazaat, singular - muhaafaza) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat*, Musandam*, Zufar* ^K 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) ^L Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) ^M none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a basic law considered by the government to be a constitution which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens ^N based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O in Oman's most recent Majlis al-Shura elections in 2003, suffrage was universal for all Omanis over age 21 except for members of the military and security forces; the next Majlis al-Shura elections are scheduled for 2007 ^P `6 Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government `7 Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government `8 Cabinet appointed by the monarch `9 none; the monarch is hereditary ^Q bicameral Majlis Oman consists of an upper chamber or Majlis al-Dawla (58 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and a lower chamber or Majlis al-Shura (83 seats; members elected by universal suffrage for four-year term; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers) `9 last held 4 October 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) `: NA ^R Supreme Court note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Sharia (Islamic) law ^S none ^T none ^U ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO ^V `N Ambassador Muhammad bin Ali bin Thani al-KHUSSAIBY `O 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 `Q [1] (202) 745-4933 ^W `N Ambassador Richard Lewis BALTIMORE III `Z Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat `[ P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Al-Sultan Qaboos, Muscat `P [968] 24-698989 `Q [968] 24-699771 ^X three horizontal bands of white, red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical band 
]% ^Y Oman is a middle-income economy in the Middle East with notable oil and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus, and low inflation. The government is privatizing its utilities and diversifying its economy to attract foreign investment. Oman continues to liberalize its markets and joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in November 2000. To reduce unemployment and limit dependence on foreign countries, the government is encouraging the replacement of expatriate workers with local people, i.e., Omanization. Training in information technology, business management, and English support this objective. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources, metal manufacturing, petrochemicals, and international transshipment ports. ^Z $38.09 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 1.2% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $13,100 (2004 est.) ^] `; 3.1% `< 41.1% `= 55.8% (2004 est.) ^^ 920,000 (2002 est.) ^_ agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA ^` 15% (2004 est.) ^a NA _! `> NA `? NA _" 0.2% (2004 est.) _P 13.5% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $9.291 billion `A $8.747 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _Q 10.3% of GDP (2004 est.) _$ dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish _% crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals, optic fiber _& -1.2% (2004 est.) _' 9.896 billion kWh (2003) _( 9.792 billion kWh (2003) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 775,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _, 54,000 bbl/day (2003 est.) _- 721,000 bbl/day (2004) _. NA _R 5.5 billion bbl (2003 est.) _S 13.77 billion cu m (2001 est.) _T 6.34 billion cu m (2001 est.) _U 7.43 billion cu m (2001 est.) _V 0 cu m (2001 est.) _W 829.7 billion cu m (2003) _X $2.674 billion (2004 est.) _/ $13.14 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles _1 China 29.5%, South Korea 17.5%, Japan 11.5%, Thailand 10.6%, UAE 7.2% (2004) _2 $6.373 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants _4 UAE 21.2%, Japan 16.6%, UK 8.4%, Italy 6%, Germany 5.1%, US 4.7% (2004) _Y $4.144 billion (2004 est.) _5 $4.814 billion (2004 est.) _6 $76.4 million (1995) _7 Omani rial (OMR) _8 Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2004), 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (2002), 0.3845 (2001), 0.3845 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 233,900 (2002) _; 464,900 (2002) _< `B modern system consisting of open-wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable `C open-wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations `D country code - 968; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat _= AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) _> 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) _? .om _@ 726 (2003) _A 180,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 34,965 km `E 9,673 km (including 550 km of expressways) `F 25,292 km (2001) _[ gas 3,754 km; oil 3,212 km (2004) _C Mina' Qabus, Salalah _K `! 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 15,430 GRT/6,360 DWT by type: passenger 1 (2005) _D 136 (2004 est.) _E `! 6 `] 4 `G 1 `_ 1 (2004 est.) _L `! 130 `] 2 `G 7 `^ 52 `_ 34 `T 35 (2004 est.) _\ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Royal Omani Armed Forces: Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman (2005) _M 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001) _] males age 18-49: 719,871 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 581,444 (2005 est.) _^ `` 26,391 (2005 est.) _N $252.99 million (2004) _O 11.4% (2003) 
]) _H boundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah exclave, but details have not been made public 