Oman — People & Society
Literacy
male
98.6% (2022 est.)
female
94.9% (2022 est.)
total population
97.3% (2022 est.)
Languages
Languages
Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Swahili, Urdu, various Indian dialects
major-language sample(s)
كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Muslim 85.9%, Christian 6.4%, Hindu 5.7%, other and unaffiliated 2% (2020 estimate)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.24 male(s)/female
total population
1.16 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.87 male(s)/female
Birth rate
20.65 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
3.17 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
28.1 years
total
27.5 years (2025 est.)
female
26.3 years
Population
male
2,130,080
total
3,969,824 (2025 est.)
female
1,839,744
Nationality
noun
Omani(s)
adjective
Omani
Tobacco use
male
17.9% (2025 est.)
total
11.6% (2025 est.)
female
0.4% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
88.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
2.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
29.8% (male 594,909/female 566,682)
15-64 years
66.2% (male 1,428,141/female 1,155,438)
65 years and over
4% (2024 est.) (male 73,076/female 83,746)
Ethnic groups
Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (including Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
50.8 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
44.6 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
16.2 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
6.2 (2025 est.)
Physician density
1.99 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
4.4% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
8.3% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
1.2 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.61 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 76.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 92.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 94.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 23.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 7.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 5.3% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
4.3% of GDP (2022 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
14.2% national budget (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
15.1 deaths/1,000 live births
total
13.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
12.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
1.7% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.27 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
The majority of inhabitants reside in and around the Al Hagar Mountains in the northern region; a smaller population is situated near the city of Salalah in the southernmost area; the remainder of the country is largely sparsely populated.
Life expectancy at birth
male
75.5 years
female
79.4 years
total population
77.4 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
13 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
0.47 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.650 million MUSCAT (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
27% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
55.8% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
11.2% (2017 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
13 years (2021 est.)
total
13 years (2021 est.)
female
14 years (2021 est.)