General information about the Sultanate of Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, and its capital, Muscat, is a country in West Asia that occupies the south-eastern location of the Arabian Peninsula, an area of about 309,500 square kilometers, bordered by Saudi Arabia to the west, Yemen to the south-west, and the United Arab Emirates to the north-west, its south coast is overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Sea of Oman to the northeast.
The system of government in Oman is absolute monarchy, and the Omani Constitution doesn’t allow political parties, while the right to vote is guaranteed to every Omani citizen reaching twenty-one years of age to choose the members of the Shura Council.
The Sultanate of Oman is an Islamic state, and it is famous as one of the most important centers of Ibadis, where the majority of the population (75%, ) follows the doctrine of Ibadi ,then follow Sunni and Shiite respectively.
Economy and investment
Oman enjoys a stable political and economic position in general, the Omani economy is moving toward a new model of growth, numbers that have been detected in the past month showed nominal growth in gross domestic product (GDP) by 2.8 %, and according to the basic numbers in this statistics, oil and gas sector is in top rank of the country's economy, in terms of public finance Oman is entirely dependent on general revenues from this sector where the barrel price is around $ 75.
Non-oil sectors saw a nominal growth of 7.6 %, while the oil sector decreased by 1 %, these figures summarize the driving forces of the economy in the Sultanate of Oman in recent years, where the non-oil sector was the main driver of economic growth. This growth was based on a significant increase in government spending which has been financed mainly by high oil revenues, the Sultanate also witnessed a huge development in major projects such as (Sohar refinery – projects of polypropylene, urea, ammonia, methanol, Aluminum smelting, and steel projects.
In the area of investment, the Sultanate is now moving towards the expansion of investment opportunities in the sea and air ports, development of small and medium sized enterprises, renewable energy and tourism, the Sultanate is witnessing a renaissance reflected in many major industrial investment projects, there are (6) industrial zones in the Sultanate.
The Sultanate has attracted foreign investment capital in the industrial sector in the regions of Duqm and Sohar, as well as investment in tourism sector.
Oman is also developing its ports, including the port of Duqm, Sohar and Salalah.
Society
There is no different communities in the actual sense in the Sultanate of Oman, despite the presence of the Baluch, Arabs and Alzenjbarien, the system of government is not affected by them and that is due to the centralized autocracy by the Sultan of decisions and policies, the peaceful coexistence and non-interference in the Sultanate issues and decisions is the dominant trend in Oman ...
Culture and Heritage
Oman has an impact on the Islamic and Arabic culture due to its geographic position and to the number of scientists throughout the history, scholars in interpretation, language, Hadieth and history, in addition to poets, Oman has gained an international attention due to its cultural activities, both Ministry of Heritage and Culture and the Public Authority for Craft Industries make sure to preserve these cultural activities, and wonderful traditions and urge citizens to do craft industries, in 2006 Muscat has been chosen as the capital of Arabic culture which helped to highlight and introduce its heritage and cultural activities hosted throughout the year.
The Sultanate has many monuments, there are more than five hundred Omani castles, Fortresses and archaeological buildings scattered in various regions of the Sultanate, where the art of craftsmanship, engineering and construction with full interaction with the Omani social and defensive needs from an early historical stages.
number of these fortresses and castles were listed in the World Heritage List of UNESCO for the importance of archaeological and historical value, including, for example Bahla and Jibreen Fortresses.
The cultural heritage of the Sultanate of Oman is very impressive as reflected by the traditional markets crowded with movement and filled with culture, heritage, customs, traditions, diverse arts, luxury perfumes, architectural inscriptions traditional costumes and jewelry, and the Omani people cherish their cultural heritage, and seek to maintain this wealth.
People and politics
In Oman There are almost no political parties, but the tribal nature exist like the rest of the Gulf countries.