Oman Environmental Overview
Climate
arid desert; elevated temperatures and humidity along the coastline; hot and arid conditions in the interior; powerful southwest summer monsoon (May to September) affecting the southern regions
Land use
other
95.2% (2023 est.)
forest
0% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
4.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 0.3% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 4.4% (2023 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
88.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
2.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Methane emissions
other
9.9 kt (2019-2021 est.)
waste
62.4 kt (2019-2021 est.)
energy
673.6 kt (2022-2024 est.)
agriculture
36.8 kt (2019-2021 est.)
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually
3.308 million tons (2024 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled
13.9% (2022 est.)
Environmental issues
scarce natural freshwater supplies; elevated soil and water salinity in coastal areas; beach contamination from oil spills; industrial waste affecting the water table and aquifers; desertification caused by strong winds transporting desert sand into cultivable land
Total water withdrawal
municipal
130 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
industrial
238 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
agricultural
1.547 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
total emissions
84.073 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from consumed natural gas
54.8 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke
661,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids
28.611 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Particulate matter emissions
34.9 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Total renewable water resources
1.4 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
International environmental agreements
party to
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified
none of the selected agreements