Head of State	HIS MAJESTY SULTAN QABOOS BIN SAID AL SAID
Location	Southeast Arabian Peninsula. 21 00 N, 57 00 E -- Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE
Land Area:	309,500 squarekilometres
Population:	2,018,074(1993 census) (current estimate 2.2 million) 1,483,226 Omanis (73%) 534,848 Expatriates
Density:	6.5 inhabitants per square km
Capital	Muscat (population over 400,000)
Administrative divisions	divided into 5 regions (mintaqah, singular - mintaqat) and 3 governorates* (muhafazah, singular - muhafazat) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Dhahirah, Muscat*, Musandam*, Dhufar*. Which are further sub-divided into fifty-nine districts (Wilayats)
Official language:	Arabic (English widely used)
Religion:	Islam
Time:	4 hours ahead of GMT
Currency:	Rial Omani = US$ 2.58 (RO 0.387 = US$ 1) ( Rial = 1000 Baisa
Gross National Income:	RO 5,692.3 million (current prices)
Total GDP:	RO 5,890.3 million (current prices)
Climate:	Hot and humid in summer (June 31-48 Centigrade) Pleasantly cool in winter (January 20-25º centigrade)
Measures:	Metric
Electricity:	220 Volts
Oil production:	800,000 barrels a day
Total Oil Exports:	for 1997 = 303 million barrels (41 million metric tonnes)
Oil Reserves:	5.4 billion barrels (proven reserves)
Natural Gas Reserves:	28.5 tcf (Trillion cubic Feet) (proven reserves)
Copper Reserves:	15 million tonnes
Fish Stocks:	4.77 million tonnes
Birth Rate Increase:	3.2%
Life expectancy:	71.6 years
Education:	aged 6-18 in school
National Day:	18th November (Government  office usually close for two days later in the month in lieu of the holidays)
Official Holidays:	Dates vary according to lunar year. 7th July 1998 (Prophet's Birthday) 16th Nov 1998 (Ascension of the prophet) 20th Dec 1998 (Ramadhan begins) 20th Jan 1999 (Eid al-Fitr) 28th March 1999 (Eid al-Adha) 17th Apr 1999 (New Islamic year 1420AH) 26th Jun 1999 (Prophet's Birthday)(The above dates may vary slightly)
Official hours:	Saturday - Wednesday 70.30 AM - 2.30 PM (except in Ramadhan 8.30 AM - 1.30 PM)
Private sector hours:	Saturday - Thursday 8.00 AM - 1.00 PM 3.30 PM -6.30 PM . ( timings variable)
International organization participation	ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO