Area Total | 309,500 sq km |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south |
Natural Resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas |
Imports | UAE 35.5%, US 27.8%, Brazil 4% (2017) – machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants |
Government | absolute monarchy |
Capital | Muscat |
Population | 4,613,241 (July 2017 est. est.) |
Ethnicity | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African |
Language | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Swahili, Urdu, Indian dialects |
Exports | China 43.7%, UAE 11%, South Korea 7.9%, Saudi Arabia 4.2% (2017) – petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles |
News about Oman
- Spiritual union: why Gulf migrants are turning to evangelical Christianityby Elle Hardy on July 31, 2022
Pentecostalism is quietly thriving, with pastors saying churches are helping low-paid workers in crisisEvangelical Christianity is quietly flourishing among migrant groups in the Gulf as churches provide low-paid workers facing horrific abuse with aid in times of crisis, according to pastors and parishioners across the region.About 30 million migrant […]
- Prophet Muhammad remarks embroil India in row with Gulf statesby Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi on June 6, 2022
‘Insulting’ comments by spokespeople for ruling Bharatiya Janata party met with anger in Middle East The Indian government has become embroiled in a diplomatic row with Gulf states after two ruling party spokespeople were accused of making Islamophobic and derogatory comments insulting the prophet Muhammad.The ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) […]
- Iran has not received £400m agreed by UK at time of Zaghari-Ratcliffe releaseby Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor on April 27, 2022
Debt paid as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh-Ashoori were released is blocked in Oman, Iran saysThe historic £400m debt the UK paid to Iran at the time of the release of British-Iranian dual nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori has still not reached Tehran, according to Iranian government sources.A senior Iranian government […]
- UK adviser on ministers’ interests faces pressure over own financial interestsby Rowena Mason Deputy political editor on November 12, 2021
Exclusive: academics call on Christopher Geidt to step aside from role as chair of a London universityBoris Johnson’s independent adviser on ministerial interests is under pressure over his own financial dealings, with academics calling for him to step aside from his role as chair of a London university.Christopher Geidt, who is chair of the council of […]
- Cyclone Shaheen hits Oman and Iran, causing landslide and flooding – videoon October 4, 2021
A cyclone that made landfall in Oman on Sunday has killed at least 13 people, and others are missing as the storm moved further inland and weakened. Omani state television broadcast images of flooded roadways and valleys as the storm churned deeper into the sultanate, its outer edges reaching the neighbouring United Arab EmiratesCyclone Shaheen hits Oman […]
- Cyclone Shaheen hits Oman and Iran, causing flooding and deathsby Associated Press in Dubai on October 4, 2021
Cyclone causes landslide in Oman and dust storm in Iran, as warning issued to residents in UAEA cyclone that made landfall in Oman on Sunday has killed 13 people, and others are missing as the storm moved farther inland and weakened.Authorities in Oman said they found the body of a man who disappeared when flood waters swept him away from his vehicle. […]
- Israel’s shadow war with Iranby Presented by Nosheen Iqbal with Martin Chulov; produced by Sami Kent and Axel Kacoutié; executive producers Phil Maynard and Archie Bland on August 10, 2021
A spate of attacks on one of the world’s busiest shipping trade routes is part of an escalating tit-for-tat conflict playing out between Iran and Israel, says Martin Chulov, the Guardian’s Middle East correspondentIn the last week of July, an oil tanker managed by an Israeli company was making a routine journey from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Fujairah […]
- Oman confirms tanker boarded off UAE was target of ‘hijacking incident’by Peter Beaumont and agencies on August 4, 2021
Confirmation comes as British navy says armed group has left Panama-registered Asphalt PrincessOman has confirmed that a tanker boarded off the coast of the United Arab Emirates by a group of armed men was the target of a “hijacking incident”.The incident, involving eight or nine armed men, ended after the group left the ship on Wednesday morning, […]
- Johnson: Iran must face consequences of 'outrageous' ship attack – videoon August 2, 2021
Boris Johnson has said Iran must face up to the consequences of its 'outrageous' attack on an oil tanker in the Arabian Sea that killed two crew, including a British national. The Liberian-flagged Mercer Street, which is linked to an Israeli tycoon, was hit off the coast of Oman late on 29 July in what is thought to have been a swarm attack involving […]
- UK summons Iranian ambassador after oil tanker drone attackby Rowena Mason Deputy political editor on August 2, 2021
Foreign Office says Iran must ‘immediately cease actions that risk international peace and security’Britain has summoned the Iranian ambassador to London for a meeting at the Foreign Office, accusing Tehran of an “unlawful” drone attack that killed a British citizen on a ship off Oman last week.James Cleverly, a Foreign Office minister, stressed to […]
- ‘Highly likely’ Iran was behind fatal oil tanker attack – Dominic Raabby PA Media on August 1, 2021
Foreign secretary backs Israeli PM’s claims Iran was behind drone strike that killed Briton and RomanianThe UK has said it is “highly likely” that Iran carried out an “unlawful and callous attack” on a ship in the Middle East, which left a Briton dead.The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said the government believed the drone attack on the oil […]
- Israel blames Iran for attack on tanker that killed Briton and Romanianby Martin Chulov and Dan Sabbagh on July 30, 2021
Israeli foreign minister contacts Dominic Raab and says ‘Iran is not just an Israeli problem’Israel has blamed Iran for a suspected drone attack on a tanker in the Arabian Sea that killed two crew, including a British national, and has vowed a harsh response.The Liberian flagged Mercer Street, which is linked to an Israeli tycoon, was hit off the coast […]
- Officials investigating why Iran warship caught fire and sank in Gulf of Omanby Martin Chulov Middle East correspondent on June 2, 2021
The Kharg, the Iranian navy’s largest vessel, went down in the strait of Hormuz just after dawn on WednesdayMilitary officials in the Gulf are investigating what caused the Iranian navy’s largest vessel to catch fire and sink in the latest mysterious incident to affect shipping linked to Tehran.The support ship Kharg went down in the strait of Hormuz […]
- Largest warship in Iranian navy catches fire and sinks, say local reports – videoon June 2, 2021
The Iranian navy’s largest warship caught fire and sank in unclear circumstances in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday, semi-official news agencies have reported.The blaze began at about 2.25am and firefighters tried to contain it, Fars said. The vessel sank off the Iranian port of Jask, near the strait of Hormuz. The crew are thought to have evacuated.Iran […]
- Oman plans to build world’s largest green hydrogen plantby Laura Paddison on May 27, 2021
Oil-producing nation aims plant powered by wind and solar energy to be at full capacity by 2038Oman is planning to build one of the largest green hydrogen plants in the world in a move to make the oil-producing nation a leader in renewable energy technology.Construction is scheduled to start in 2028 in Al Wusta governorate on the Arabian Sea. It will be […]
- Alone in Oman: Covid worsens abuse for trafficked womenby Katie McQue on March 23, 2021
Women from Sierra Leone tricked into servitude find themselves sold on under Gulf’s kafala system Isha knew she was in trouble when her passport was snatched from her hands. The 27-year-old from Sierra Leone had just arrived in the Omani capital, Muscat, believing she was to start a well-paid job at a restaurant. Instead, her recruitment agent bundled her […]
- Weatherwatch: Oman's hot, dry climate has rainy exceptionsby Stephen Moss on March 2, 2021
Jebel Akhdar, a mountain range in the north of Oman, receives up to 500mm of rain a yearThe gulf state of Oman may be mostly desert, with an annual rainfall of less than 135mm (5in), but there is one exception to this. In the north, the mountain range of Jebel Akhdar, which rises to just over 3,000 metres (10,000ft), receives as much as 500mm (20in) of […]
- So long, Southsea: last sultan of Zanzibar quits UK after 56 years in exileby Harriet Sherwood on September 20, 2020
Deposed royal who fled to UK after 1964 revolution finally reunited with family in Oman After more than half a century of living in Southsea, Portsmouth, with its unpredictable British weather, shingle beaches and Victorian pier, relocation to the Gulf state of Oman might take some adjustment.But for Jamshid bin Abdullah al-Said the 91-year-old last sultan […]
- 'We’re poor people': Middle East's migrant workers look for way home amid pandemicby Martin Chulov in Beirut and Michael Safi in Amman on June 9, 2020
Gulf states prepare for demographic shift as migrant workforces return home, with prospects bleak for those who stay Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageDuring 14 years in Lebanon, Jevie Olido’s four children have grown up without her, her marriage has failed and her parents have grown old. Now, the income that kept her far from […]
- Dominic Raab heads off to the Gulf with a full agendaby Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor on March 2, 2020
War in Yemen and Saudia human rights repression will keep foreign secretary busyDramatic Houthi rebel advances and threats to end humanitarian aid in Yemen will lead Dominic Raab’s agenda when he makes his first visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday.The British foreign secretary will also travel to Muscat later this week to meet the new Sultan of Oman, Haitham […]