t 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.

Geography
Oman

Location:

Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian
Gulf, between Yemen and UAE

Geographic coordinates:

21 00 N, 57 00 E

Map references:

Middle East

Area:

total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries:

total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km

Coastline:

2,092 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:

dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong
southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south

Terrain:

central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m

Natural resources:

petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium,
gypsum, natural gas

Land use:

arable land: 0.12%
permanent crops: 0.14%
other: 99.74% (2005)

Irrigated land:

720 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

1 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 1.36 cu km/yr (7%/2%/90%)
per capita: 529 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in
interior; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:

rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; limited
natural fresh water resources

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of
Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil

People
Oman

Population:

3,311,640
note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (J