Country
Countries A-Z
Oman
Sultanate of Oman
Sultanat Uman
Political Status: Independent sultanate recognized December 20, 1951; present regime instituted July 23, 1970; new “basic law” decreed on November 6, 1996.
Area: 119,500 sq. mi. (309,500 sq. km.).
Population: 2,340,815 (2003C); 2,613,000 (2006E). Both figures include non-Omanis (559,257 in 2003).
Major Urban Center (2005E): MUSCAT (urban area, 640,000).
Official Language: Arabic.
Monetary Unit: Oman Rial (official rate November 2, 2007: 1 rial = $2.60US).
Head of State and Government: Sultan Qabus ibn Said Al SAID; assumed power July 23, 1970, in a coup d'état that deposed his father, Sultan Said ibn Taymur Al SAID.
The Country
The Sultanate of Oman (known prior to August 1970 as Muscat and Oman), which occupies the southeast portion of the Arabian Peninsula and a number of offshore islands, is bounded by the United ...