]! ^! The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, a newly established sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, but it never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said al-Said overthrew the restrictive rule of his father; he has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world while preserving the longstanding close ties 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 `Y Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km ^( 2,092 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 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% (2005) ^/ 720 sq km (2003) ^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 _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling `Q 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 3,204,897 `* includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 42.7% (male 698,461/female 670,793) `, 54.6% (male 1,026,686/female 723,712) `- 2.7% (male 47,534/female 37,711) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 18.9 years `. 21.5 years `/ 16.5 years (2007 est.) ^6 3.234% (2007 est.) ^7 35.76 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.041 male(s)/female `, 1.419 male(s)/female `- 1.26 male(s)/female `2 1.238 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 18.28 deaths/1,000 live births `. 20.96 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 15.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 73.62 years `. 71.37 years `/ 75.99 years (2007 est.) ^= 5.7 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.1% (2001 est.) ^? 1,300 (2001 est.) ^@ less than 200 (2003 est.) ^A `3 Omani(s) `4 Omani ^B Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African ^C Ibadhi Muslim 75%, other (includes Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu) 25% ^D Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects ^E `5 NA `2 75.8% `. 83.1% `/ 67.2% 
]$ ^F `6 Sultanate of Oman `7 Oman `Z Saltanat Uman `[ Uman `\ Muscat and Oman ^H monarchy ^I `8 Muscat `9 23 37 N, 58 35 E `: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 5 regions (manatiq, singular - mintaqat) and 4 governorates* (muhafazat, singular - muhafazat) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Buraymi*, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat*, Musandam*, Zufar (Dhofar)* ^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 21 years of age; universal; note - members of the military and security forces are not allowed to vote ^P `; Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government `< Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said al-Said (sultan since 23 July 1970 and prime minister since 23 July 1972) `= Cabinet appointed by the monarch `> 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 (84 seats; members elected by popular vote for four-year terms; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers) `> last held 4 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2007) `? NA ^R Supreme Court `* the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Shari'a 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, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Hunaina bint Sultan bin Ahmad al-MUGHAIRI `S 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 `U [1] (202) 745-4933 ^W `R Ambassador Gary A. GRAPPO `_ Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat `` P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Sultan Qaboos, Muscat `T [968] 24-698989 `U [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. Sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped build Oman's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. Oman joined the World Trade Organization in November 2000 and continues to liberalize its markets. It ratified a free trade agreement with the US in September 2006 and, through the Gulf Cooperation Council, seeks similar agreements with the EU, China and Japan. To reduce unemployment and limit dependence on foreign labor, the government is encouraging the replacement of foreign expatriate workers with local workers. Oman actively seeks private foreign investors, especially in the industrial, information technology, tourism, and higher education fields. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources, metal manufacturing, petrochemicals, and international transshipment ports. ^Z $43.88 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $27.23 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 6.6% (2006 est.) ^] $14,100 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 2.6% `A 38.8% `B 58.7% (2006 est.) ^_ 920,000 (2002 est.) ^` `@ NA% `A NA% `B NA% ^a 15% (2004 est.) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 3% (2006 est.) _V 14.2% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $14.33 billion `F $12.81 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _% 4.5% of GDP (2006 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 _( 5.9% (2006 est.) _) 14.33 billion kWh (2004) _* 13.33 billion kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 740,000 bbl/day (2006 est.) _. 60,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ 721,000 bbl/day (2004) _0 NA bbl/day _W 4.7 billion bbl (2006 est.) _1 17.2 billion cu m (2004 est.) _2 6.77 billion cu m (2004 est.) _X 10.43 billion cu m (2004 est.) _Y 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Z 829.1 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $7.097 billion (2006 est.) _3 $24.73 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles _5 China 21.6%, South Korea 19.4%, Japan 14.2%, Thailand 12.6%, UAE 7.1%, Taiwan 4.1% (2005) _6 $10.29 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants _8 UAE 22.4%, Japan 15.8%, UK 7.7%, US 6.7%, Germany 5.8%, India 4.2% (2005) _[ $4.908 billion (2006 est.) _9 $4.259 billion (2006 est.) _: $76.4 million (1995) _; Omani rial (OMR) _< Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2006), 0.3845 (2005), 0.3845 (2004), 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 265,200 (2005) _? 1.333 million (2005) _@ `G modern system consisting of open-wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable `H open-wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations `I country code - 968; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat _A AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) _B 13 (plus 25 repeaters) (1999) _C .om _D 3,555 (2006) _E 245,000 (2005) 
]' _F 137 (2006) _G `! 6 `a 4 `J 1 `c 1 (2006) _R `! 131 `a 2 `J 7 `b 52 `c 35 `W 35 (2006) _] 1 (2006) _^ gas 4,072 km; oil 3,405 km (2006) _H `! 34,965 km `K 9,673 km (includes 550 km of expressways) `L 25,292 km (2001) _S `! 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 10,797 GRT/5,040 DWT by type: passenger 1 `d 2 (Kazakhstan 2) (2006) _I Mina' Qabus, Salalah 
]( _J Royal Omani Armed Forces: Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Sultanat Oman, RAFO) (2006) _T 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001) _K males age 18-49: 719,871 females age 18-49: 508,621 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 581,444 females age 18-49: 435,107 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 26,391 females age 18-49: 25,466 (2005 est.) _U 11.4% (2005 est.) 
]) _N boundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah exclave, but details of the alignment have not been made public __ `f Oman is a destination country for men and women primarily from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India who migrate willingly, but may subsequently become victims of trafficking when subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude as domestic workers and laborers; there have been occasional reports that expatriate children engaged in camel racing may transit or reside in Omani territory `g Tier 2 Watch List - Oman is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List because of a lack of evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons in 2005 