;
Muscat--Muscat*, Quriyat
_#_Independence: 1650, expulsion of the Portuguese
_#_Constitution: none
_#_Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate
appeal to the sultan; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_Executive branch: sultan, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: State Consultative Assembly (advisory
function only)
_#_Judicial branch: none; traditional Islamic judges and a nascent
civil court system
_#_National holiday: National Day, 18 November
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Sultan and Prime Minister
QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970)
_#_Political parties: none
_#_Suffrage: none
_#_Elections: none
_#_Other political or pressure groups: outlawed Popular Front for the
Liberation of Oman (PFLO), based in Yemen
_#_Member of: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD,
ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Awadh Bader AL-SHANFARI;
Chancery at 2342 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 387-1980 through 1982;
US--Ambassador Richard W. BOEHM; Embassy at address NA, Muscat
(mailing address is P. O. Box 50200 Madinat Qaboos, Muscat); telephone
698-989
_#_Flag: three horizontal bands of white (top, double width), red,
and green (double width) with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist
side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath
superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered at
the top of the vertical band
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Economic performance is closely tied to the fortunes of
the oil industry. Petroleum accounts for nearly all export earnings,
about 80% of government revenues, and roughly 40% of GDP. Oman has
proved oil reserves of 4 billion barrels, equivalent to about 20 years'
supply at the current rate of extraction. Although agriculture employs a
majority of the population, urban centers depend on imported food.
_#_GDP: $9.2 billion, per capita $5,870 (1990); real growth rate
- 3.0% (1987 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.3% (1989)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $3.5 billion; expenditures $4.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of $675 million (1989 est.)
_#_Exports: $3.9 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
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