uled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has
opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a
long-standing political and military relationship with Britain. Oman's
moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good
relations with all Middle Eastern countries.

@Oman:Geography

Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and
Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE

Geographic coordinates: 21 00 N, 57 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries:
total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km

Coastline: 2,092 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong
southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south

Terrain: vast central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and
south

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m

Natural resources: petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble,
limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 5%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 95% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 580 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust
storms in interior; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues: rising soil salinity; beach pollution
from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to
Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil

@Oman:People

Population: 2,533,389
note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41% (male 531,137; female 511,051)
15-64 years: 57% (male 875,625; female 555,895)
65 years and over: 2% (male 31,400; female 28,281) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.46% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 38.08 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 4.16 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)