Demographics of Oman

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Oman, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

About 50% of the population in Oman lives in Muscat and the Batinah coastal plain northwest of the capital; about 200,000 live in the Dhofar (southern) region; and about 30,000 live in the remote Musandam Peninsula on the Strait of Hormuz. Some 1,400,000 (39% of entire population) expatriates live in Oman, most of whom are workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Jordan, and the Philippines.

Since 1970, the government has given high priority to education in order to develop a domestic work force, which the government considers a vital factor in the country's economic and social progress. In 1986, Oman's first university, Sultan Qaboos University, opened. Other post secondary institutions include a law school, technical college, banking institute, teachers' training college, and health sciences institute. Some 200 scholarships are awarded each year for study abroad.

Nine private colleges exist, providing two-year post secondary diplomas. Since 1999, the government has embarked on reforms in higher education designed to meet the needs of a growing population. Under the reformed system, four public regional universities were created, and incentives are provided by the government to promote the upgrading of the existing nine private colleges and the creation of other degree-granting private colleges.

Population

Demographics of Oman, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Census results

	Total population	Omani population	Expatriate population
1993	2,000,000	1,465,000 (73.3%)	535,000 (26.7%)
2003	2,340,815	1,781,558 (76.1%)	559,257 (23.9%)
2010	2,773,479	1,957,336 (70.6%)	816,143 (29.4%)
2014	4,092,000	2,303,000 (56.3%)	1,789,000 (43.7%)

UN estimates

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1950	456,000	—
1960	557,000	+22.1%
1970	732,000	+31.4%
1980	1,181,000	+61.3%
1990	1,868,000	+58.2%
2000	2,264,000	+21.2%
2010	2,782,000	+22.9%
Source:

	Total population (thousands)	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	456	42.3	54.6	3.0
1955	501	43.6	53.2	3.2
1960	557	44.6	52.1	3.2
1965	631	45.6	51.2	3.3
1970	732	46.4	50.4	3.2
1975	898	46.1	50.9	3.0
1980	1 181	45.6	51.8	2.6
1985	1 539	46.0	51.6	2.4
1990	1 868	45.6	52.1	2.3
1995	2 232	40.3	57.5	2.2
2000	2 264	36.7	60.8	2.5
2005	2 430	32.1	65.1	2.8
2010	2 782	27.2	70.3	2.5

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (01.07.2009) (Estimates) :

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	1 971 115	1 202 802	3 173 917	100
0-4	139 614	132 530	272 144	8,57
5-9	124 776	120 250	245 026	7,72
10-14	129 964	124 646	254 610	8,02
15-19	145 215	139 611	284 826	8,97
20-24	238 483	148 965	387 448	12,21
25-29	327 686	147 717	475 403	14,98
30-34	247 107	120 429	367 536	11,58
35-39	192 483	79 617	272 100	8,57
40-44	149 090	58 112	207 202	6,53
45-49	103 908	41 522	145 430	4,58
50-54	83 057	30 530	113 587	3,58
55-59	40 488	19 402	59 890	1,89
60-64	23 538	16 192	39 730	1,25
65-69	11 811	9 000	20 811	0,66
70-74	7 721	7 212	14 933	0,47
75-79	3 303	3 514	6 817	0,21
80+	2 871	3 553	6 424	0,20

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	394 354	377 426	771 780	24,32
15-64	1 551 055	802 097	2 353 152	74,14
65+	25 706	23 279	48 985	1,54

Structure of the population (01.07.2012) (Estimates) :

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2 332 687	1 290 314	3 623 001	100
0-4	164 406	158 435	322 841	8,91
5-9	132 469	127 235	259 704	7,17
10-14	111 287	105 301	216 588	5,98
15-19	128 311	119 875	248 186	6,85
20-24	262 201	147 485	409 686	11,31
25-29	438 633	160 772	599 405	16,54
30-34	335 104	131 241	466 345	12,87
35-39	234 343	96 312	330 655	9,13
40-44	177 171	63 301	240 472	6,64
45-49	122 574	47 241	169 815	4,69
50-54	89 917	39 602	129 519	3,57
55-59	56 448	28 380	84 828	2,34
60-64	28 338	20 629	48 967	1,35
65-69	17 199	15 561	32 760	0,90
70-74	13 925	12 439	26 364	0,73
75-79	9 475	7 373	16 848	0,47
80+	10 882	9 113	19 995	0,55
unknown	4	19	23	<0,01

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	408 162	390 971	799 133	22,06
15-64	1 873 040	854 838	2 727 878	75,29
65+	51 481	44 486	95 967	2,65

Vital statistics

UN estimates

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR1	CDR1	NC1	TFR1	IMR1
1950-1955	23 000	13 000	11 000	48.9	26.2	22.7	7.25	214.1
1955-1960	26 000	13 000	13 000	49.1	23.9	25.2	7.25	194.1
1960-1965	29 000	13 000	17 000	49.3	21.3	28.0	7.25	171.4
1965-1970	34 000	12 000	21 000	49.3	18.2	31.2	7.31	145.4
1970-1975	40 000	12 000	28 000	49.1	14.5	34.6	7.41	114.7
1975-1980	53 000	12 000	41 000	51.2	11.5	39.7	8.10	87.6
1980-1985	67 000	11 000	55 000	48.9	8.4	40.6	8.32	64.4
1985-1990	74 000	10 000	64 000	43.3	5.7	37.6	7.85	42.5
1990-1995	68 000	8 000	60 000	33.1	4.0	29.1	6.27	31.4
1995-2000	60 000	8 000	52 000	26.7	3.4	23.2	4.46	24.4
2000-2005	50 000	7 000	43 000	21.5	3.1	18.4	3.01	15.3
2005-2010	50 000	10 000	40 000	19.1	3.7	15.3	2.52	9.4
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Births and deaths

Year	Population (x1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Rate of natural increase	TFR
2009		64 735	7 098	57 637				3,3
2010	2 773 479	65 528	6 974	58 554	23,63	2,51	21,12	3,0
2011		67 922	7 667	60 255				2,9
2012		72 867	7 884	64 983				2,8

Ethnic groups

According to the CIA, Oman's population primarily consists of Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), and African ethnic groups.

Omani society is largely tribal. Oman has three known types of identities. Two of these identities are 'tribalism and Ibadism', the third identity is linked to 'maritime trade'. The first two identities are widespread in the interior of Oman, these identities are closely tried to tradition, as a result of lengthy periods of isolation. The third identity, which pertains to Muscat and the coastal areas of Oman, is an identity that has become embodied in business and trade. The third identity is generally seen to be more open and tolerant towards others. Thus, tension between socio-cultural groups in Omani society exists. More importantly, is the existence of social inequality between these three groups.

Migration

Because of the combination of a relatively small Omani population and a fast-growing oil-driven economy, Oman has attracted many migrants. At the 2014 census the total expatriate population was 1,789,000 or 43.7% of the population. Most migrants are males from India (465,660 for both sexes), Bangladesh (107,125) or Pakistan (84,658). Female migrant workers are mainly from Indonesia (25,300), the Philippines (15,651) or Sri Lanka (10,178). Migrants from Arab countries account for 68,986 migrants (Egypt 29,877, Jordan 7,403, Sudan 6,867, UAE 6,426, Iraq 4,159, Saudi Arabia 725, Bahrain 388, Qatar 168, other 12,683) and other Asian countries for 12,939 migrants. There were 8,541 migrants from Europe, 1,540 from the United States and 15,565 from other countries.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.46 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.2 male(s)/female
total population: 1.26 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 74.16 years
male: 74.87 years
female: 76.55 years (2010 est.)

Urbanisation

About 78% of the population is urban.

Nationality

noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani

Religions

Islam (Ibadi Islam 35%, Sunni Islam 65 %, Shia Islam 1%), Christianity, Hinduism

Languages

Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Kiswahili, Urdu, Lawati (Khojki), Gujarati, Zadjali, Ajami, Kamzari, Jibbali (Qarawi): Shehri, Mehri, Habyoti, Bathari, Hikmani, Harsusi, Malayalam, Tamil and other Indian languages

Literacy

definition: Literacy has been described as the ability to read for knowledge and write coherently and think critically about the written word.
total population: 91.1%
male: 93.6%
female: 85.6% (2015 est.)

Overseas Omani people

Today several thousand Omani-born people have emigrated abroad. The figures are shown below (only countries with more than 100 Omani-born residents are listed).

Country	Omani population
United Kingdom	2,024
United States	940
Canada	315
Australia	209

External links

Government

• Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs