Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country in the southwestern part of Asia, on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea to the south and east, and the Gulf of Oman to the northeast. The capital is Muscat.
Sultanate of Oman سلطنة عُمان Salṭanat ʻUmān | |
---|---|
Anthem: | |
Capital and largest city | Muscat 23°36′N 58°33′E / 23.600°N 58.550°E |
Official languages | Arabic |
Demonym(s) | Omani |
Government | Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy |
• Sultan | Haitham bin Tariq Al Said |
Fahd bin Mahmoud al Said[1] | |
Legislature | none |
Establishment | |
• The Azd tribe migration | Late 2nd century |
751 | |
Area | |
• Total | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (70th) |
• Water (%) | negligible |
Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 5,431,354 |
• 2010 census | 2,773,479[3] |
• Density | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (220th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2012 estimate |
• Total | $90.055 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $29,166[4] |
GDP (nominal) | 2012 estimate |
• Total | $76.464 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $24,764[4] |
HDI (2013) | 0.731[5] high · 100th |
Currency | Rial (OMR) |
Time zone | UTC+4 (GST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+4 |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +968 |
ISO 3166 code | OM |
Internet TLD | .om, عمان. |
The country is a monarchy, ruled by a Sultan, and the people are called Omanis. Right now, the sultan is Haitham bin Tariq Al Said. For a long time, the British have supported the sultans of Oman. In the 1960s and 1970s, some Omanis started a revolution to overthrow the sultan and end oppression, but the sultan defeated them with the help of Great Britain.[6]
Divisions
Since 28 October 2011, Oman is divided into Eleven Governorates (Muhafazah):[7][8][9]
- Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate
- Ad Dhahirah North Governorate
- Al Batinah North Governorate
- Al Batinah South Governorate
- Al Buraimi Governorate
- Al Wusta Governorate
- Ash Sharqiyah North Governorate
- Ash Sharqiyah South Governorate
- Dhofar Governorate
- Muscat (Masqat) Governorate
- Musandam Governorate
Below the governorates, Oman is divided into provinces.
Climate
Oman has a hot climate and very little rainfall. Annual rainfall in Muscat averages 100 mm (3.9 in), falling mostly in January. Dhofar is subject to the southwest monsoon, and rainfall up to 640 mm (25.2 in) has been recorded in the rainy season from late June to October. While the mountain areas receive more rainfall, some parts of the coast, particularly near the island of Masirah, sometimes receive no rain at all within the course of a year. The climate generally is very hot, with temperatures reaching around 50 °C (122.0 °F) (peak) in the hot season, from May to September.
Oman Media
The Omani national anthem, "As-Salam as-Sultani", performed by the United States Navy Band. It was composed in 1932 by James Frederick Mills, a Briton who died in 1945.
Late Iron Age sites in Oman
The Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn in Ad Dhahirah, built in the 3rd Millennium BCE, are UNESCO World Heritage.
Bahla Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was built between 12th and 15th c. by the Nabhani dynasty.
The Portuguese Empire ruled Oman for 143 years (1507–1650).
Following the expulsion of the Portuguese Empire, Oman became one of the powers in the western Indian Ocean from 1698 onwards.
The Sultan's Palace in Zanzibar, which was once Oman's capital and residence of its sultans
Sultan Said bin Taimur ruled from 1932 to 1970.
Related pages
References
- ↑ "Cabinet Ministers". Government of Oman. Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- ↑ "Oman".. MSN Encarta. “In 751 Ibadi Muslims, a moderate branch of the Kharijites, established an imamate in Oman. Despite interruptions, the Ibadi imamate survived until the mid-20th century.”
- ↑ "Final Results of Census 2010" (PDF). National Center for Statistics & Information. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Oman". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ UNDP (2011). Human Development Report 2011 (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-230-36331-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
- ↑ Takriti, Abdel Razzaq (2016-08-25). Monsoon Revolution: Republicans, Sultans, and Empires in Oman, 1965-1976. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-251561-2.
- ↑ "Governorates of Sultanate Of Oman". Archived from the original on 2013-12-08. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- ↑ "Seven new divisions created in Oman". Archived from the original on 2013-05-24. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ↑ "Seven governorates, officials named". Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-04-02.