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; very 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: 3,102,229 note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 42.7% (male 675,423/female 648,963)
15-64 years: 54.7% (male 1,001,917/female 695,578)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 44,300/female 36,048) (2006 est.)
Median age:
total: 19 years
male: 21.7 years
female: 16.5 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.28% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:
36.24 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)